


The Matron's Handmaiden

by Clairanette



Series: Candace and Chloe [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abduction, Alcohol, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, BDSM, Blood, Blood and Violence, Bondage, Branding, Candace & Chloe, Child Exposure, Choking, Collars, Dom/sub, Domestic, Domestic Discipline, Domestic Violence, Drugs, Dubious Consent, Electrocution, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Face Slapping, Gags, Gaslighting, Half-Sibling Incest, Heavy BDSM, Homophobic Language, Human Trafficking, Humiliation, Impact Play, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Snuff, Internalized Homophobia, Kidnapping, Love Triangles, Maids, Master/Pet, Master/Servant, Master/Slave, Matron's Handmaiden, Mistress, Murder, Murder Kink, Non-Sexual Slavery, Objectification, Parent/Child Incest, Physical Abuse, Porn With Plot, Punishment, Racism, Racist Language, Racist Villain, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Slavery, Sexual Violence, Sibling Incest, Sister/Sister Incest, Situational Horror, Slavery, Snuff, Stabbing, Survival Horror, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence, Trans Female Character, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:55:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 31
Words: 251,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25171231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clairanette/pseuds/Clairanette
Summary: Chloe, a young woman trapped under the heel of Candace St. Clair, the daughter of a powerful mafia boss, lives a miserable life serving as the slave of an all powerful mistress, and Candace is anything but kind hearted and loving, or so it seems. These two have a hidden soft spot for one another, as well as a secret history together, one that the two of them can’t quite seem to let go. Chloe’s fate may rest in Candace’s hands, but it’s up to the two of them together to decide how their story unfolds.
Relationships: Candace St. Clair/Chloe, Claudia Mariam/Chloe, Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Series: Candace and Chloe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907629
Comments: 182
Kudos: 233





	1. Brand New Day

↞✶↠ _**ACT 1**_ ↞✶↠

_**Forfeit** _

_**Chloe, a young woman trapped under the heel of Candace St. Clair, the daughter of a powerful mafia boss, lives a miserable life serving as the slave of an all powerful mistress, and Candace is anything but kind hearted and loving, or so it seems. These two have a hidden soft spot for one another, as well as a secret history together, one that the two of them can’t quite seem to let go. Chloe’s fate may rest in Candace’s hands, but it’s up to the two of them together to decide how their story unfolds.** _

My day started like any other, curled up in a thin blanket lying on the carpeted floor of my cell. Awoken by the lady of the house, the sounds of her slowly unlocking the large metal door that separated my space from the rest of her walk in closet. I looked up at her as the door swung open, and she looked past me, reaching down to grab me at the wrist. It was clearly not a good morning for her, annoyed by the greasiness of her own hair as she fumbled to unlock the door to her bathroom, having forgotten to unlock it before retrieving me. I didn’t say anything at all, the hard grey muzzle clasped over my mouth made speaking difficult, and I had learned that making a fuss first thing in the morning was a terrible idea. As we entered the bathroom the lights slowly started to turn on. Squinting, she marched straight past the sink to the opposite end of the room, my wrist in hand as she opened the door into the hallway and shoved me out, my feet contacting the cold hardwood floor.

“An omelette. Eggs, cheese, light butter, no peppers.” She looked me in the face for the first time this morning. Still unable to speak, I gave her a small bow, knowing she preferred being bowed to than receiving a simple nod. Not even a smile. Upon my acknowledgement, she turned away, her voice trailing out as she closed and locked the door. “And an iced tea with lemon.”

I shivered slightly, still adjusting to the feeling of my bare feet on the hardwood floor, and the cold air from the vent outside of her bathroom against my naked body. Apart from the band of metal clasped around my neck and the grey leather piece around my mouth, I was completely vulnerable. The kitchen stood to my left, with the rest of the house behind me. I knew that right now would be the best time to turn around and make an escape attempt, as I heard the sounds of the shower turning on in front of me. My body was sore, I hadn’t yet eaten or gotten to relieve myself, and she counted on this. I knew I wouldn’t be eating until Candace had eaten, and the leather muzzle strapped to me made sure that none of her breakfast made its way into my mouth. 

I turned and made my way into the kitchen, there wouldn’t be an escape attempt today. I had only ever made one attempt to date, and I was far too hungry to try again. Eggs, cheese, butter; I had never made an omelette until I learned to make one for her. The sound of the eggs sizzling against the skillet didn’t help my appetite. I opened the fridge to pull out the shredded cheese, deciding against trying to sneak a slice of ham back into my cell with me. I knew better. Her showers were never short, but by the time I had finished up folding her omelette in half, I could no longer hear the sounds of water coming from the bathroom. Sliding a lemon wedge onto the rim of her iced tea, I picked up the tray and carried it to her door, balancing it in my dominant hand as I knocked on the door to the master bedroom. 

Candace opened it and guided me in, taking the tray from my hand and setting it down. Her closet door was already open, and she was just as naked as I. This was our usual routine, which she had polished to perfection, not wanting to waste a moment more on me than she needed to. Already on her way to pick out clothes, she walked me back into her closet, pushing me into my cell and locking the door once again. 

I once again wrapped myself in the single blanket gifted to me by my owner, turning towards her room and watching as she opened one of the small hatches built into the wall. She looked in at me from inside her room, seeming much more pleased now having conditioned her hair. She tapped the small surface in the opening with one hand, clasping the restraints around my wrists. She reached her own hands inside, her wrists resting on top of mine as she brought one of her keys up to my face, unlocking the muzzle and pulling it through the hatch. I could see the muzzle resting next to her on the ground through another hatch as she opened it, this one flat along the ground. 

My stomach growled as she pushed the small bowl into my cell, closing the hatch behind it. I was too hungry to care what it was, my hands restrained above me as I lowered my head to meet the bowl. The chewy mush didn’t smell nearly as good as the eggs, but it was food, and it was food that she allowed me to eat. I always take longer to eat than Candace, having to scoop breakfast out of the bowl like a dog. And just like a dog, it was as if my ears perked up as I heard Candace open up the closet door once again. I looked up at her again once she had unlocked the cell door, a path to the bathroom open behind her. A smug smile on her face, she looked down admiring me, the naked girl cowering in her shadow. 

“Good morning Chloe.” She smirked, prodding at me with one foot as I chewed.

“G-good morning Miss Candace…” In contrast to the Mistress’ confident and articulate voice, mine was shaky and quivering. One slip of the tongue right now would earn me a foot in my mouth. “How was breakfast Miss?” I looked up at her, just finishing my own breakfast.

“It was very nice… Now clean yourself up and get to mopping my floors.” Her reply was as condescending as ever, she turned heel and made her way back into her bedroom, locking the closet door behind her before releasing me from the cuffs keeping me in place, retrieving the bowl and closing both hatches between us. 

Finally free from my restraints, I stand up and make my way to the open door across from Candace’s room, a small stone room built adjacent to her bathroom. It was only about the size of her shower, with floors covered in just as much water. A small sink, shelves, a shower, and a toilet were crammed into this tiny uncomfortable space. I let out a sigh of relief as I sat down, my legs quivering as I finally relieve myself. Candace only lets me into her bathroom once a day to clean it, not allowing me to use it, forced to use this much less comfortable space, which I get to use just as rarely. 

I stepped into the shower one foot at a time, my metal collar still clasped around my neck securely. I turned the handle to the shower trying to turn the faucet on as hot as I can, yet I’m still met with a stream of ice cold water. I shiver, surrounded by the cold steam, hurrying to wash myself and get dried off. Simultaneously lathering myself in a combination of body wash and shampoo. I take gentle care of my delicate hair, one of the few things I can take pride in anymore, running my fingers through it for just a moment. Once cleaned, I rinse myself off in the cold water, wrapping myself in my only towel.

Hanging on the towel rack next to the sink was a fluffy black dress with a white apron and accents sewn onto the it, a the traditional maid's uniform. I slip the dress on once I’m dry, sliding on a pair of white tights underneath. I immediately got to work cleaning the shower I’d just washed up in, using the water and my bucket of supplies to help flush out and wash the small toilet as well. 

Once finished, I moved into the master bathroom, instantly met with the soft scent of the shower, it smells like Candace, and I can feel my heart skip a beat. I took a deep breath as I leaned over the side of her bathtub, already seemingly scrubbed clean of any dirt and imperfections and began to scrub it even cleaner, determined to keep it that way. It was clear to me that there's no need to scrub Candace’s bathroom this clean every morning, but she was set on having me do so anyways, a part of our routine that I have quickly gotten used to. It’s not about keeping the house clean to her, it’s about making me work, keeping me busy. It is pleasant in a way, the master bathroom is kept so clean that before I’ve even started to clean it already looks and smells brand new, making it far easier to polish her porcelain and floor, even if it is big.

I took a quick glance at myself in the mirror once I’d finished, delicately brushing my locks with her hairbrush. My reflection stared back at me through the pristine glass, she looked defeated. I never expected to see myself looking like someone’s maid, but there I was, Candace’s slave, her possession. The white light on the collar blinks menacingly every few moments. I force myself away from the mirror, knocking on the door into her room, hoping for her to answer. Holding her empty breakfast tray out to me to be taken care of, I’m met a few moments later by Candace.

“Wash and dry them by hand once you’re done in here.” She glared at me, awaiting a response.

“Yes Ma’am,” I mumbled back to her, not wanting to provoke her disapproval. I look down as I speak, her cold mean eyes threatening to cut right through me if we made eye contact, I nod in agreement, taking the tray from her before watching her make her exit. Setting the remnants of Candace’s breakfast down for the time being, I made my way to her bed, seeing the soft fiber mattress I wish I could be sleeping in. The carpeted floor of the master bedroom was much nicer under my soles than the cold stone floor of the closet I am forced to call home. I folded her king-sized sheets nicely, fluffing each of her five soft feather pillows as I made the bed. 

Being made to clean her bedroom every day was like torture. I loathe every moment I spend there without her. Her king sized bed lies in the corner of the room, attached to the opposite wall is a massive television screen, almost 100 inches wide. In the corner of the room next to her closet door I can see the metal hatch into my cell, and beside it is a small chest full of tools and implements that I am all too familiar with. In the middle of the room is a sofa surrounding a large glass coffee table, where she likes to eat her breakfast. Finally, adjacent to her bed is a large desk, Candace’s bedroom gaming rig, complete with three separate monitors for two different computers. Once I finished making her bed, organizing her clothes, dusting every surface, and vacuuming the floors, I made my way back to the kitchen to wash the dishes from breakfast. Candace’s bedroom takes me the better part of the morning to clean, so I knew that right about now is when I will need to start on lunch. 

After finishing dishes I moved on to cleaning the kitchen, I wiped down the tables, put away utensils, and was in the middle of mopping the kitchen floor when I heard her voice. “Bring my lunch to the gaming room today, I expect you here before the end of this match,” she ordered, speaking through the intercom directly to me in the kitchen. I clenched my fist, angrily squeezing bubbles out of the sponge in my hand. I can handle Candace being demanding and strict, but more than anything else Candace likes being mean and unfair, and it makes my blood boil. Twenty minutes per match is hardly enough time to make and serve lunch to a woman who expects professionally cooked dishes for every meal, and she knows that. I toss the sponge back into the mop bucket, stomping my feet to the counter. Exasperated, I begin putting together a simple sampling platter for her, a charcuterie prepared on a tray shiny enough to clearly see my own reflection. I watch my eyebrows furl, my face red with anger. 

“I’m sorry, _your highness_ , you should have said something sooner,” I bite my lip as I begin slicing cheese onto the platter, unable to hold my temper in any longer. “I am sick and tired of you, if you want things done well, then maybe you shouldn’t make things harder than they need to be....” I slam the door of the fridge shut, turning to the sink to wash my hands, looking through the bulletproof glass of the window above the sink, over the beach and out into the ocean. “Maybe you should have kidnapped a real maid, instead of me…” Still biting my lip, I stare back down at the sink, turning the faucet off. I knew very well why I was here, why it was **_me_ ** here, and not someone else. It was me that Candace wanted to punish, my life was the one that she wanted to ruin. 

Before I could reach the platter I was on my knees, collapsed onto the cold wet floor. Unable to move or gasp for air, I bit down as hard as I could, feeling as if I was being struck by lightning. The small white light of the metal band around my neck now blinking red, sending an agonizing torrent of electricity into my neck and through my entire body. The shock collar I had been cursed with was very nearly irremovable, and the evil queen could activate it remotely from anywhere, inside or out. On all fours now, I cried out in pain, but unable to hear the echoes of my own wails through the pain, a ringing in my ears interrupting my thoughts before I could form them. After what felt like an eternity, I felt the shock ending, and as I began to regain my senses I could finally feel the tears streaming down my face and onto the surface below. Once the ringing in my ears had subsided I could finally hear my own voice, desperately mumbling the words “I’m sorry,” as loud as I could, over and over and over again, hoping my Mistress would hear and forgive me. 

**“Lose the attitude** **_SLAVE,_ ** **or you won’t be eating.** **_Ever. Again._ ** **”**

I sob even louder, slamming my forehead into the ground, bowing to her, begging for her forgiveness. I whimper loudly, my entire body trembling, feeling a puddle below me that I couldn’t recognize, unable to identify whether it was the soap and water from cleaning the floors, or my own tears. My eyes still closed, I attempt to compose myself, pleading for Miss Candace’s amnesty, speaking into the floor below me.

“I’m sorry Madame St. Clair! I should know better by now. Please, please, forgive me.” I slowly begin opening my eyes, the tears streaming down my face now born from fear rather than pain, terrified to think of what she might do to me. “I am so **SO** sorry My Lady, I-” Through the still fading ringing in my ears I’m interrupted. 

“Enough now. You’ve already interfered with both the match and my lunch, and you should be ashamed of that. Now make yourself presentable and bring me my food. You’ll have to redo the kitchen floor again, starting with that _piss puddle_ you’re grovelling in.” I can hear the amusement in her voice, able to picture the smug grin on her face even without seeing her.

My face turned bright pink, humiliated to the point of bawling once again as I realized the puddle I was sitting in was neither water nor tears, but that I had soaked myself and the leggings I was wearing while I was collapsed onto the floor, not knowing if I had lost control of myself while I was being electrocuted, or if I had wet my pants in fear as I was being admonished. I simply let out a few quiet sobs of acknowledgement and a hushed “Yes Mistress,” through my pained lips. 

I slowly pull myself back up and snap back to following Candace’s orders, washing my hands and face clean before delivering Candace’s lunch to her. Entering the dining room, the pain I was in from the shock was now fading into discomfort. Usually, the Mistress takes her lunch in this room, but today she had instructed me to bring it to her in her entertainment room. Not willing to defy one of her orders, I walked through the opposite doorway out into the hallway, knocking on the door to my destination. 

  
I watched as the lady of the house opened the door to her entertainment room, Candace St. Clair, standing in the doorway to meet me, the shock controller strapped around her left wrist expertly disguised to look like an otherwise inconspicuous piece of jewelry. She stood over me, almost 6 feet tall, thin, with platinum blonde hair flowing down her back. She was larger and physically stronger than me, with larger and more accentuated curves, fit for her modeling career. You couldn’t tell by looking at her that she bought this body, shaped my medical treatments and surgeries. She was the perfect embodiment of conventionally attractive. Yet behind her I could see and hear what she was playing, she spent most of her time practicing her skills at Starcraft. By profession, Candace was a famous Esports player, and a passionate one. She was one of the best players in the world, having won second in this year's world championship. For the first time ever, the world championship final match was between two women, and Candace was absolutely furious that she wasn’t able to become the first woman to win the world championship, having lost 4-2 to a rookie girl named Sophia Cavalier, and Candace was determined to not let it happen again. As a professional Starcraft player should be, Candace is excellent at planning and micromanaging, and she’s capable of having a successful career as a model while not losing any practice. When it came down to it, the game was what she cared about the most, even if it paid less than her photoshoots. The first time I had ever seen her in person was at one of her signing events, when I still worked as event security at a gaming conference center, that was almost four years ago now, back when Candace was still a famous rookie. 

I’m snapped back to reality, greeted by a forceful slap to the face, barely managing to keep my hands steady enough to keep from dropping the tray. It hurts more than being shocked, not physically, but mentally. I hold the tray out to her in one hand, wiping my tears with the other. In contrast to the Mistress of the house, I was more than half a foot shorter, with a messy head full of dyed peach hair, and I was slightly chubbier than she was, cute, but not as attractive as the woman standing in front of me.  
“I’m ashamed of myself, I-I’m sorry Miss. I promise that it won’t ha-”

“What happened to your lip?” She asks, staring at my bottom lip. I quiet myself, putting my hand up to my lip as she takes the tray from me, noticing the bleeding for the first time. I was so distraught that I hadn’t noticed that I’d bitten through the skin as I was being shocked.

“I-it’s nothing My Lady.” 

“See to it that it heals properly, I won’t be having you kiss my boots with bloody lips. As for your transgressions earlier, I stand by what I said, you won’t be eating tonight… Nor will you be using the washroom again, since you’re clearly so eager to piss your pants.” She smirks, beginning to turn around back into the room, setting her lunch down on her side table. “But as long as you don’t make any further mistakes today, you won’t be subjected to any more physical punishment. But one more fuck up, and I will make you suffer tonight. Is that understood, Chloe?”

My frown quickly turns into a smile, grateful that Candace had seemingly forgiven me for talking back to her. My hands cross in front of my hips, gripping tightly at the skirt of my dress as I bow happily, tears of relief dripping down my face. “Thank you Mistress…” 

After hearing the sound of Candace shutting the door on me, I rise and head back to the kitchen, beginning to clean up the puddle I’d created on the floor. It was humiliating to think that Candace could see me even from another room, watching me piss myself in the kitchen. I clean the puddle up and redo the entirety of the kitchen floor before moving onto the rest of my duties. Eager to impress her, I thoroughly sweep and scrub every hallway in the house, my metal collar beeping loudly the closer I get to each exit, as well as mopping the floors in the foyer, lounge, and parlor rooms, not making a single peep. The rest of the evening passes uneventfully, I find other things to do, dusting and cleaning windows, until I hear Candace’s footsteps coming out of her gaming room.

“You’ll be deep cleaning the dining room tonight, while I eat, since I clearly need to keep a closer eye on you.” I can hear the disappointment in her voice as I rise to meet her, following her into the dining room as she gestures for me to enter the kitchen. Without saying a word to her, I begin cooking dinner, from the other room I can hear that Candace has grown equally silent. Doing my best to try and impress her again, I do my best to serve her favorite pasta. As I enter to see her once again, Candace is turned around, staring out into the ocean through the large sliding glass door out of the dining room.

“Does my thrall know how to swim?” She ponders to me, staring longingly out into the water, watching the sun as it sets.

“I do indeed, My Lady. Though I doubt I’m as good at it as you are.” I set her dish down on the table in front of her before setting out to clean the windows that she’s staring through.

“I think one day I’ll take you out there with me, swimming alone can only be fun for so long.” She turns back around, beginning to eat dinner, sighing to herself. “The worst that you’ve done since you’ve gotten here is make me realize how lonely it is not having someone to talk to.” Behind her, I finish cleaning the windows, keeping to myself as she eats. 

“Would you want to go home someday, Chloe?” I stop in my tracks as I hear her ask me this, struggling to keep my composure still.

“I… I would…” I turn to face her beginning to polish the fancy dishware she keeps on display in the dining room.

“You aren’t getting out of this. Ever.” She looks me in the eyes, a stern look painted on her face, her platinum hair glistening in the light of the sunset, deep blue eyes staring into my soul. “There’s no home waiting for you out there. This place is where you belong.. Your home… **_I am your home now._ **Understood?” 

I bite my already injured lip once again, tears dripping onto the floor once again, a loud shattering sound echoing through the otherwise silent house as one of her fancy pieces of china falls to pieces in my hands. Unable to summon any words, I once again looked to the floor in shame, getting down on my hands and knees, pleading to her. I listen as her footsteps get closer, watching her shadow as she sits down in front of me. Her hand reaches out once again, this time pinching my lower lip between her fingers, causing it to bleed once again as she picks up a small piece of glass, forcing my mouth open and placing it on my tongue. 

“I knew you couldn’t do it. Go find something for these shards, and clean this up with your mouth.” She stands me off and sends me out of the room back to the kitchen, rushing to clean up my mistake, I quickly find a small waste bin and spit the small plate shard into it. I carry it with me back into the dining room, a wet rag held up to my lip to stop the bleeding, as I kneel back down next to the china cabinet. Candace has moved across the table into a position to watch my torment, legs crossed and I slowly and painfully pick up each and every shard with my mouth, and spit the pieces into the waste bin. 

“I’m very disappointed in your performance today. That will be all from you, I will have you deep clean the dining room tomorrow in addition to your regular duties.” She lifts me by my wrist, having finished dinner while enjoying my pain, walking back to her room with me in tow. Back through the closet, she opens my cell, placing me back in it for the night. I collapse to the floor in defeat, wanting to plead for forgiveness, but still tormented by the pains in my mouth. 

“Strip naked, and then get the wall restraints ready, I’m not done with you yet.” She says as she slams the cell door closed, opening the hatch for me to deposit my piss stained uniform through, before walking away. I do as I’m told, stripping my dress and my leggings off and putting them through the hatch, closing it once I’m done and rendering myself unable to open it back up. There were two pairs of arm shackles in my cell, attached to the wall on one side, I pull them out into position, getting myself ready for Candace’s return. 

Sitting in abject silence, it must have been at least an hour until I could hear any activity from outside of my cell. I can hear her set down something heavy outside of the door just before she opens it, kicking my uniform to the side. “You’ll be working naked for most of tomorrow, since you need to do laundry. Stand up and face the wall.”

Following her instructions, I rise to my feet, my knees trembling as I turn to face the wall away from the master bedroom, closing my eyes as I feel Candace shackle both of my wrists and ankles to the wall, preventing me from turning away from it. Her warm hands begin to run up and down my back, feeling my every bump and curve. I hold my tongue and my breath as she cups both of my breasts with her soft delicate palms. 

“I’m not here to fuck you, that’d be letting you off easy… I’m here to punish you, for **_Everything_ ** you’ve done to me… Now whimper for my forgiveness…" She whispers directly into my ear, letting me feel her warm breath before I begin to whimper loudly through my lips, tears running down my face again. She squeezes my ass in her hand before running her fingers up to my lower back, tracing a circle just above my tailbone. 

“I think _here_ will do just fine, don’t you **my little zergling**?” My eyes go wide as she speaks, watching her retrieve a large glowing branding iron in the shape of a spiral, like a demented nautilus shell. I plead for mercy as she presses the burning iron into my skin, pushing it deep into my lower back, crying out in pain as I’m helpless against her, forced to wallow in pain as she incinerates the symbol into me like a tramp stamp, holding it there for what feels like an hour before Candace finally relents, dousing the branding iron to put it out, before returning to me, a bawling mess still chained to the wall.

“Chloe... I should leave you here. I should leave you shackled and in pain until you starve to death, but I won’t... I can't....I want more from you, and I won't stop until I’ve ruined your life... ”

Candace began unshackling me from the wall, gently helping me to the floor before heading into her bedroom. She returned moments later with a small pill and a glass of water, opening my mouth up and setting the pill down on my tongue like she had done with a shard of dinnerware earlier in the night, holding the glass up to my lips and helping me swallow the pill.

“That pill will help numb your mouth, to make it hurt less, **_and_ **it’s going to make tomorrow all the more interesting for you.” She set my muzzle in her lap, getting ready to strap it onto my face. 

“You’re going to do better tomorrow. Aren’t you Chloe?” 

Looking her in the eyes once again, my vision blurred by tears, I nod. “I promise.”

“Good.” And with that, she curled my piss soaked leggings from lunch into a ball and stuffed them into my mouth, lifting the muzzle to my face, and wrapping the whole thing around my still numbing mouth, strapping it securely onto my face. 

“Goodnight Chloe. I will come and get you in the morning.” She said before closing the door to my cell and heading to bed for the night. 

  
  
  



	2. Desperate Housebreaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one ended up being a lot longer than i had planned, and it might not be as consistently good from beginning to end, but i am proud of it
> 
> This one is the one and only chapter that is going to focus on some very specific niche kinks, and I had planned to upload the next chapter alongside it to provide a place to go for people who just want to skip the content in this chapter, but unfortunately it ballooned past its intended length, and i will post chapter 3 next week~
> 
> Feel free to skip to the next chapter if body fluids make you squicky~

I woke up in pain the next morning. Whatever pill Candace had given me was working, because my mouth was still numb by the time the morning came around, even worse, my body still burned. Twisting around to look at my lower back, I was finally able to see the brand she had given me, a perfect recreation, the symbol of the Zerg, and touching it felt like fire.

Candace swung the cell door open with unusual enthusiasm. “Rise and shine, worm. You have a difficult day ahead of you!” My eyes drifted up to meet hers, sulking quietly. I wasn’t ready to start my morning routine yet, but that wasn’t going to stop her from yanking me to my feet by my hair. Curling her fist around my peach-dyed locks, she more than happily forced me off of my aching knees. Once I was stood up I felt a painful twinge in my abdomen, my hands shooting down between my thighs, joints locking up in place. 

Candace turned back, looking me up and down before tugging me further to her. She had a mischievous look on her face as we walked. “Looks like pissnets needs to use the bathroom already?” She taunted me as we entered her master bathroom, stopping at the toilet to let me stare for almost half a minute before continuing on, pushing me out towards the kitchen again. “You’ll get to use the restroom once you’ve been fed, like always.” I watch as she pulls a fistful of my hair from my head, detaching me from her hand and letting me fall to my knees on the hardwood floor. “And not a moment sooner. Try not to piss on my kitchen floor again, or you’ll be pissing in your cell from now.” She slammed the door shut in my face before locking it shut, giggling to herself from inside.

It took me a few moments to rise to my feet, biting down on the cloth tights in my mouth as the pain in my bladder worsened, hearing the sounds of Candace’s sink and toilet flushing from the room in front of me. I drag myself into the kitchen to make breakfast, in agony as I try to make pancakes without peeing on the floor again. I shouldn’t need to go to the bathroom already, why do I need to pee this much?

I knock on the door to the master bedroom, once again greeted by Candace, fresh out of the shower, and bare from head to toe. She looks me up and down again, satisfied by my still trembling knees. “Set it down and get back in your cage, you filthy animal~” She smirked, slipping her fingers under my collar and tugging me along back into the cold stone cell. “You’re stupid if you think I’m gonna change my morning routine for you.” She slid open the hatch, delivering my breakfast to me as normal, retrieving my muzzle. “I’m glad to see that those pills have been helping~” She pulled the balled up pair of tights that she’d stuffed into my mouth before muzzling me, rolling them into a ball and rubbing them into my face, wiping up spittle from my lips. I had almost completely forgotten about the medicine that Candace had given to me during the panic I had been in last night. I ran my tongue over the sore spots in my mouth, the pill still numbing my mouth like it’s meant to. Shaking my head, I leaned down to the bowl, eager to eat before the medicine wore off, Candace had gone ahead and filled the bowl with something softer for me to eat this morning, which I quickly consumed. Last night had come and gone without me getting to eat or use the bathroom, so I rushed myself, even though I knew that Candace would release me when she felt like it, and not a moment sooner. Despite all of this, it made me happy that she’d decided to feed me something that wouldn’t cause any more discomfort in my mouth.

“I can see that the diuretic in that pill is working too, isn’t it Chloe?”I looked up from my food, feeling some specks stuck to my chin. “That must be why I need to pee so badly...” My cheeks turned pink, feeling stupid that I hadn’t realized what was happening. As soon as we made eye contact with each other, Candace smirked, reaching her hand in through the hatch opened between us, squeezing my cheeks together and pulling me up onto my knees. “Someone finally figured it out huh, good for you, unfortunately you won’t be getting to do that in the bathroom this morning, I want to watch you squirm some more~” My eyes widened as they rose once again to meet her eyes. “Wh-what do you mean milady?” She simply smiled as she pushed my face away from her once again. “I mean you’ll be pissing in your cell.”

I look back down to the floor, averting my eyes. “You said I’d get to use the restroom.” “And you will, you’ll need to take a shower after you piss yourself… again, not that you’ve washed yourself since the last time~” I clench my fists in frustration, sick of Candace always going back on her word just to torment me. I held my tongue, knowing that if I called her out now I’d end up in an even worse position than I already am. “I must have misunderstood, sorry Ma’am.” Candace closed the hatch, the sound of the contraption locking echoing in my empty chamber as I was left in silence. 

The precautions Candace has built into her house are truly frightening. The walls and doors of my small isolated cell are almost completely soundproof, making it completely impossible to hear any noise coming from further away than Candace’s bedroom. Even from Candace’s bedroom, her voice and the sounds of her starcraft matches are completely muffled at best, leaving me unable to tell what’s going on outside of my containment. In combination with being almost completely soundproof, my little holding cell is nearly invisible. Even if you did find yourself in the Mistress’ bedroom, the one part of the house where she almost never allows visitors, the interior of her closet is completely inconspicuous. Wandering into the closet without knowing that it locks from the outside means that if she wanted to, Candace could lock anyone inside and there would be know way out for them without the key. 

From inside of the walk-in closet, all three of the other doors are hidden behind screens, painted to look indistinguishable from the walls, each of them requiring keys to unlock and enter, even and especially the large metal door to my cell. But the walls aren’t the only frightening thing about my cell, attached to the wall opposite the master bedroom are manacles, restraints that are built into and irremovable from the wall, capable of completely binding my limbs to the wall, and rendering me immobile. 

The floor is the same fancy stone flooring that decorates the closet outside, luckily for me, Candace was merciful enough to include a small rug on the floor for me to sleep on, not as comfortable as the carpeting in Candace’s room, or big enough to fit my whole body on top of, let alone cover the whole floor, but it was about as comfortable as a doormat, and I appreciate it immensely. Beneath said rug however, is a large metal ring, an anchor point for more diabolical restraints, and built into the ceiling directly above is an identical contraption. Opposite the door is what seems like a bench, built into the wall and made of the exact same stone, large enough to lay on top of, but even less comfortable than the floor. Candace has also left me a small trash bin, as well as a small blanket and pillow to help me sleep. 

The single door into my cell is both thick and seemingly indestructible, requiring two completely different keys to unlock and open the door from the outside, built into the bottom of the door is a large sort of hatch, which slides open like a window rather than swinging out on hinges, large enough to fit one’s hands and even head through, but too small to fit one’s whole body through, located at the perfect eye level when sitting on the floor. The hatch requires its own completely separate key to unlock and open, and both the hatch and the door lock instantly the moment that they are closed, and from the inside are completely and absolutely unopenable. No handles, keyholes, knobs, hinges, or even grooves to grab at, the whole door is one perfectly flat metal surface, as if it was cast in place like concrete, and above the door as well opposite it, two separate surveillance cameras. 

The hatch that I find myself currently affixed to however, is slightly more sophisticated. Built into the wall between Candace’s bedroom and my own, although it is also completely unopenable from the inside, has multiple separate sections that unlock and slide open individual, and attached to the top panel is a second pair of manacles, which Candace uses to bind my hands before breakfast, before using the bottom panel to deliver my food.

Another large stinging pain in my bladder snaps me back to reality, I kick my small bundle of sleeping materials to the side, pushing them off into one corner to protect them. I didn’t want to do this, but I was getting closer and closer to no longer being able to stop myself from once again pissing all of the floor, but this time Candace was doing this on purpose. Though empty, my food bowl was still just sitting there on the floor of my cell in front of me, as were my already piss soaked leggings from yesterday, still curled up into a heap on my floor. 

I surrender finally, a stream of liquid making its way down my legs and pooling onto the floor beneath me. I bite down on my injured, yet still mostly numb lip, the feeling of pressure on my bladder slowly being eased was relieving, and oddly satisfying. Yet like everything I’ve been forced to endure up to this point, more than anything else, this was humiliating. 

There’s nothing in the world that Candace St. Clair loves more than humiliating, debasing, and degrading me, making me feel embarrassed, mortified, and ashamed of myself. She may have lost in that final match against her rival, but in this game, she was winning. She was absolutely unstoppable. I angrily thrashed against my restraints, my wrists still bound to the panel above my head as desperate and furious tears streamed down my cheeks.

I sob loudly, my knees once again trembling in a still growing puddle of my own urine, streaming down my body and onto the floor, as well as everything on it. I watch as the rug, pillow, blanket, everything slowly gets soaked in piss, unable to stop it. In just a few moments it’s over, I know that it’s not even as much as my bladder can hold, but it feels like a lot more. I whine quietly, cursing under my breath, wanting to block the world out permanently. I know that she’s watching me, on my knees as I desperately try to save myself from this disgrace. I can only assume that Candace deliberately waits, letting me sit there for several minutes before eventually returning, standing in the doorway to look down on me, condescendingly, still completely naked. 

“Doesn’t that feel better than holding it in just to spite me?” She was clearly having the time of her life just witnessing my agony, a delighted smile painted across her picturesque face. “Please… please leave me alone…” I utter quietly through my sobs, too humiliated to face anyone in the world right now. “ _ Excuse me? _ ” Her voice raises steadily. “Are you actually talking back to me? After last night? Didn’t you learn your lesson?” Still choking back tears, I shake my head desperately. “N-no Ma’am… I learned my lesson…” Even as I stare at the floor beneath me I can feel her glare, burning its way into my skin. “Then why don’t you get to it already, and start cleaning up this revolting mess?” My throat flares in anger, again thrashing against my restraints. “I would Miss… but I haven’t anything to clean with… Especially since you haven’t released my hands.” My words are fueled by fire as they leave my lips, somewhat aggressively stating what I thought about all of this. 

Candace responded in kind. “You have a tongue don’t you?”

“That’s  _ Disgusting!!! _ ” I jerk my head up to look at her, my desperate eyes meeting hers.

“ _ You’re  _ **_Disgusting!!!_ ** ” In an instant, I feel my entire body being jerked away once again as Candace’s foot meets my head. 

**“You** **weak! Dim-witted!! Pathetic!!! Pig-headed!!!! Worthless!!!! Waste!!!!! Of!!!!! Space!!!!!”** Candace exclaims loudly, her foot pounding my head into the floor with every word. “If you want to talk about _Disgusting_ then why don’t take a good look in the mirror and tell me what you see. The face of a disgusting worthless little pig that I plan on wiping off the face of this planet, just to rid it of your filth.” Candace simply watched as I continued to sob, slowly lifting her foot off the back of my head. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, Chloe.”

My new name still sounds foreign to me, still not used to responding to the name she had assigned me, it took me a few moments to recognize what was being said. I slowly lift my chin, rising to look up at her, slowly but surely finding the will to stop sobbing. 

Her tone shifted slightly, from enraged to stern and demanding. “Whatever it is that’s going on in that vapid little chamberpot you call a skull, silence it. There’s nothing that you can do.” She stood confidently in the doorway, leading my eyes to meet her. From down here I can take in every detail of her mostly naked body standing in her underwear, from the signs of her delicately pedicured feet, each and every scar she’s given herself while shaving her legs, up to the stretchmarks on her torso, and the signs of the surgeries she’s had to enhance her body, including implants in her breasts and hips, and what can only be a pair of incision scars on her chest where they cut her open. “My way is the only way, Chloe. To you, I am all that matters. What I want, what I say, what I do. You should be thankful that I didn’t just have you killed after you humiliated me like you did. Be glad that I’ve given you this second chance at life.” 

  
“You promised me that you’re going to do better today. Are you going to fulfill that promise, or should I leave you here to wallow in your own filth?” Her tone shifts once again, still stern but almost nurturing and encouraging now. Finally breaking my silence, I nod, gazing down at her feet desperately. “I can do better… please…”

Candace turns and begins to walk away, stopping to sort through her outfits for the day. “The door to your washroom is unlocked, I have an outfit picked out for you, something to replace those leggings of yours while you wash them. Prove to me that you’re willing to do better today by putting your tongue to work cleaning that puddle. Maybe knowing that a reward will be in order for you tonight if you succeed will help make it taste just a little bit better~” My heart skips a beat, not once has Candace ever rewarded me for any kind of behavior. She giggled to herself, turning away from me. “I’ll leave your cell door open for now, and once I’m satisfied I will undo your manacles from my bedroom.” She opened up the door back into her room and looked me over one final time before exiting and locking the door. “This is your final chance at life Chloe, make it count.” Just as suddenly as she arrived, I was once again left with the ominous silence of my cell, and the sounds of my own tears as I get to licking my own piss off of the floor. 

Despite my disgust, I got to work doing as I was told, and less than an hour later I had been released and was making my way into the shower to wash up, still able to feel the gross residue left on my skin and hair. Once I was done washing my body once and my hair a thousand times, I turned the water off, by the time I had finished showering, the diuretic had done its work, and I found myself pissing again already, despite having no liquid intake. I dry myself off normally, and it’s not until I start to examine my outfit for the day that I realized what it was that Candace left me to replace my leggings. 

I turned the doorknob, locked, Candace doesn’t usually lock me in the bathroom after my shower. I knocked on the door into the closet, wondering if she actually expected me to wear this. Rather than through the other side of the door, I hear her voice once again through a speaker in the room with me. “What is it Chloe? I can see that you still aren’t dressed, and I am not letting you out until you put it on” I take a step back, looking down at the ground completely flustered.

“Please Mistress… I don’t need  **_diapers_ ** …” My face is already pink, holding it in my hands as I look down, fiddling with it. “That puddle of piss you just washed off of yourself says  _ otherwise _ ~” I can hear her giggling at me through her microphone. “That wasn’t my fault Ma’am!”

“Then  **whose fault** was it, slave?” She interrupted me before I could even get my words out, clearly pausing to hear my answer. I back down defeatedly, wiping my eyes clear of gunk “It was my fault Madame… I’m sorry…” 

“I will tell you what, Chloebelle~” Her voice picked back up eagerly. “If you can manage to get through the whole rest of the day  _ without _ wetting your diaper, and yes they are  _ your diapers _ , I had my personal assistant get them just for you~” She paused for a few moments, leaving the microphone on to let me hear her giggling. “That is, if you can manage to keep your diaper clean and dry for the rest of the day, you  **won’t** be required to wear them from now on. But, if you  _ can’t _ keep yourself clean and dry until I put you to bed, you  **will** be required to wear them all day, every day, from this point on, do you understand?” I hesitate for a few moments, knowing that if I don’t agree to her terms she’ll simply force me into them from now on anyways. “Yes Ma’am… I understand fully…”

I laid down on the cold stone floor and fitted myself in the proper attire, taping the diaper around my waist and rubbing the front of it against my skin. Whatever it was made out of, it was soft and comfortable, and it fit perfectly. Once I was completely dressed for the day I knocked again on the bathroom door, and sure enough, a few minutes later Candace answered. She looked me up and down before stepping into the doorway “Show me that you’re wearing it.”

I hesitated, pulling the hem of my dress up to show Candace my diaper, my face flushed with even more embarrassment. She reached towards it, rubbing her fingers on the padding between my legs, squeezing it lightly. “It’ll be your job to change your own diapers if you can’t keep it this dry. As much fun as it is to watch you squirm as you piss yourself, I do not care for the smell of you pissing on my floors. Now go clean your room, it still smells.”

The rest of my morning went by as they normally do, I cleaned, mopped, and dusted where I needed to, making sure Candace’s room and everything attached to it was to her liking, making sure to collect the laundry for later, including my own soiled leggings. For the most part, Candace left me to myself for the rest of the day, even as I served her lunch, she silently oversaw me as I finished polishing and dusting the china cabinets I couldn’t get to last night. 

I could see that after tormenting like she did this morning, Candace was tired, she impatiently eyed the time as she got ready to send me off to do laundry. I could feel that the diuretic was still working its magic, and by the time lunch had passed, I felt the urge to relieve myself once again. 

“You seem awfully tired, Ma’am, is something the matter?” I spoke up, trying to distract myself from the pain in my groin. “What can I say, you’re tiring, especially when you don’t listen.” She tapped her fingers on the table, trying to fake annoyance at me breaking the silence finally. 

“I am being very patient with you, but you’re _stubborn_ ” I look back at her, meeting her eyes with mine. “Stubborn how, Madame? Have I not been following your instructions to your liking?” Candace sighed, making sure to chew and swallow her food before speaking. “It’s not your work ethic that’s the problem, it’s your attitude.” I nodded, listening as she spoke.

“You still somehow have the gall to talk back to me when you think I’m not listening, disrespect me when you think I’m not watching, and you still have pesky, irritating, bothersome little thoughts inside your head, like you still expect to get back at me someday, like you expect to get out of here someday, like I still haven’t  **_broken you yet._ ** ” I watched as she angrily gnawed at her steak, chewing it with an angry scowl on her face. “This is a game that you’re going to  _ LOSE. _ ” 

I tried returning to my work, knowing that she was just trying to egg me on, wanting me to say something to get me in trouble, wanting me to step out of line so that she could punish me. I heard her footsteps walking up behind me, feeling the back of my skirt being lifted, her hand pressing against my backside, the soft puffy padding crinkling in her hands. “I’m impressed you’ve even managed to keep it dry this long~” She slipped a couple of her fingers inside of the leg holes, slowly pushing her fingers inside of me, pressing against my bladder, the pressure threatening to unleash itself down my pants.

“I could just electrocute you, right now, and place all of the blame on you as you lose control and piss your pants, and you couldn’t stop me, isn’t that right Chloe?” She paused, looking over my shoulders, still towering over me even as she bent down slightly. “If you wanted to…” I held my tongue, wanting to turn and tear at her throat with my teeth. 

“You know very well that if I want something from you, I can get it. But I want  _ this _ to be your own fault, that way, when you  **lose** , it’ll feel all the more painful to you~” She slowly slipped her fingers back out, patting my bottom. “Behave now, or you won’t be getting your  _ Reward~ _ ” 

It was unlike Candace to want to do something nice for me, to offer any sort of reward, and as I felt her fingers slowly retreating from inside me, I felt disappointed. Digging the toe of my flats in place, I turned with her as she walked away, the idea of being rewarded making my heart beat quicken. She lifted her glass of tea to her lips, taking one last drink and leaving a bright red lipstick stain on the rim as she set it back down on the table. “Finish this drink for me, that’s an order.” She licked her lips before turning heel again and leaving the room. 

I almost dropped and shattered yet another plate onto the dining room floor as I hastily went and picked up the glass, lifting it to my face. I took a deep breath, smelling the aromas, the Mistress’ could afford the highest quality of drink, but the scent of the tea didn’t excite me. I hated tea, but I relished being able to smell her breath, it wasn’t just the excitement of being allowed hydration in the middle of the day, I pressed my lips to the glass, right onto her lipstick stains as I finished every drop in the glass, setting it back down on the table as I felt a tear dripping down my cheek. “...I won’t lose to you… Not this time…”

I finished the rest of my daily tasks as they came, mopping floors, doing dishes, cleaning windows. It was late, Candace let me know that she wouldn’t need me to serve dinner tonight, instructing me to instead focus on laundry. I of course knew that this meant Candace was planning on being out of the house tonight, having dinner elsewhere, and I can expect to be locked away in the laundry room while she’s away. Candace would never actually admit to this, she wanted me to believe that she was always here, and that her security was completely foolproof, but Candace has to juggle two separate professions. I had collected all of the clothes that needed washed in a small basket, it was slightly annoying having to move around with it all day, but Candace usually locks doors behind me when I’m done cleaning any given room, and it was only a minor nuisance. 

Candace swung the door to the bathroom open, having just finished streaming for the day, and getting ready to leave. Candace looks amazing regardless of what outfit she wears, her slick black capris perfectly accentuating her bubbly round ass. I hadn’t even realized I was staring until I heard her speak. “Yes yes, I look amazing, enough ogling, have you finished your duties for today?” She talked at me as she walked around to my backside, lifting my skirt once again. “Yes Miss Candace… all but the laundry, like I was told.” I bit my lip as I felt her squeezing my nappy once again, the numbing on my lip had almost entirely faded, and I could feel that the diuretic had stopped as well. I was beginning to think that I could make it without wetting myself tonight, but even though the diuretic had finally worn off, I was terrifyingly close to no longer being able to hold it anymore, and I knew that if she slipped her fingers past my lips like she had earlier, I would undoubtedly end up pissing myself.

“I’m actually impressed that you’ve managed to keep dry all this time… Maybe I won’t have to trap your pretty little ass in diapers from now on… Wouldn’t it be nice to have your ass on display after we get it all sculpted and plumped up?” My heart skipped a beat and so did my feet, the idea of Candace forcing me through plastic surgery was terrifying, yet oddly exciting. Regaining my composure, Candace walked me through the house, opening the door to another large bedroom, this one used as yet another massive walk-in closet, and attached to it from inside was the laundry room. 

“I’m going to keep you in here until you’ve finished with my clothes. I will still be around so don’t try to pull anything stupid like skipping out to get to a bathroom, or you will not be getting that reward I promised you. Don’t you dare wash your filthy rags with mine either, or I’ll put  **_you_ ** through the washing machine as well.”

I waited for a few moments, getting clothes sorted and ready to wash, but to my surprise, Candace made her way out of the room without locking the door, but it only took me a few moments to learn why. She came back in holding what looked to be a pair of shorts, gesturing for me to lie down as she slid them up each of my legs. Once she stood me back up, I felt her cinch the waistband tight, squeezing my abdomen before locking the shorts in place with yet another key. I looked down to examine it, confirming that she had placed a pair of locking shorts over my waist to prevent me from removing my diaper. With everything she had planned out of the way, Candace smirked at me as she left the room, locking the door behind her.

I fiddle with the locks on my shorts as I do laundry, having to both hand wash and machine wash each article of clothing as I go along. Once per month, Candace makes me wash each and every article of clothing in the house, regardless of whether or not they’ve been worn, and I am extremely glad that tonight is not one of those nights, as I continue to struggle against my own body, urging me to just let go and wet myself. Candace leaves a box of sewing supplies in the laundry room in case any of her clothes ever tear and she needs me to sew them back up. Retrieving the box from one of the shelves, I opened it up, grabbing a pair of sewing needles and some hair pins and placing them in my apron in case I needed to make an escape.

I knew Candace was out of the house, if I could just get up and find the bathroom before Candace returns, I could figure out how to make it look like I had stayed dry all day, but hearing the sounds of the washing machine, and the splashes of water as I hand wash her soft delicate gowns threatens to open up my floodgates.

Unable to take it any longer, I get up, hanging the gown I was washing up to dry as I walk back into the bedroom. The door was locked, of course it was locked, the locks keeping my shorts in place were flimsy and annoying, but I could tear through the shorts themselves if I needed out, I just needed to break through this damn door.

“Please please please open….” I collapsed to my knees, yanking on the doorknob, I wasn’t as strong as Candace but I knew if I tried hard enough I could find a way to pick the lock. Sticking a sewing needle and hair pin into the door, I lean closer, listening for any clue that what I was doing was working.

That was when I was met with the sound of footsteps from the hallway outside. Startled, I quickly started backing away from the door, I was sure that Candace had left already, had she come back? Did she forget something?

I lean in close once again, pressing my ear to the door to listen for what was happening, my hands pinched between my thighs. A few moments later, I felt them leaning against the other side, almost as if they knew what I was doing.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you~” That was not Candace. Whoever it was, I didn’t recognize their voice, leaving me completely baffled as to who it was that was in Candace’s house with me. “Miss St. Clair is not going to appreciate finding out that you tried to pick the locks and escape, when she told you  **not to.** ”

My heart nearly beating out of my chest now, I back away, focusing on not soaking my pants out of terror. “But if you behave, and get back to doing what your Master has instructed you to do, I think I can keep this between us, okay Chloe?” I couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman, but they sounded genuine, and honest. They backed off of the door, almost as if they were satisfied with getting through to me so easily. “I’m rooting for you tonight~” Then they walked away, as quickly as they had shown up, they were gone.

Unfortunately, I had already lost. Here I sat, kneeling in front of the bedroom door, wetting my diaper like a baby, tears streaming down my cheeks in fear of Candace and her wrath. I felt as the padding between my legs turned warm and damp, getting wetter by the second. I reached down and pressed it to my parts, shaking as I felt it finally stop. Even though I had pissed a lot more than I did this morning, it managed to not leak, but that didn’t stop it from making the laundry even more difficult. I thought of how Candace would react when she returned home, pressing the diaper into my parts and rubbing as hard as I could, knowing I would never hear the end of it.    
  


Candace didn’t return until long after dark, clearly exhausted as she unlocked the door into the laundry room. I looked up at her, having finished laundry hours prior, resorting to slumping into a corner to rest. “I’m going to guess that you magically no longer need to use the restroom, do you?” My cheeks turned red as I shaked my head, rising to meet her. She lifted my dress to confirm for herself. “Such a shame, but you’ll get used to diapers I’m sure~” She rubbed my backside before letting my dress back down, unlocking my shorts. “You’re done for tonight, time to return to your cell, and wait for dinner. Let’s go.” She took my hand, leading me back into my cell for the night, slumping into a tired heap on the floor. I had taken my pillow and blanket out to wash them, forgetting to bring them back with me. Still, I did as instructed, stripping my uniform off and depositing it into the hallway outside, I rubbed the front of my crotch, now completely nude aside from the wet diaper taped onto my waist. 

Candace eventually returned, opening the door to my cell. She slid a bowl of food onto my floor, setting a basket full of my blanket and pillow down on the bench beside me. 

“Even if you did end up pissing yourself  **_again_ ** , you did better today~” She gestured into the basket for me to look through it. “As promised, I’ve decided to reward you for today~” Curiously, I pulled my bed supplies out of the basket and looked through it, the room almost instantly drowned in the sound of happy sobs as I picked up a small stuffed puppy from inside the basket. 

“You sure do look like a baby, don’t think this means I’m gonna mommy you, or change your diapers, that’s your own problem... but I do hope you appreciate it~”

This wasn’t just any stuffed puppy, this was  **_my_ ** stuffed puppy, the same one I’d slept with every night since I was young. Before I had time to look up and question her, Candace was interrupting me.

“I’m proud of you, Chloe. Keep it up okay?”

Unable to summon the words to answer her, I simply nodded, a happy grin plastered onto my sobbing face. 

“Goodnight crybaby~”

  
  



	3. Party Animal

I nervously fidgeted in my cell. Candace had cut my work off early today, letting me know that she was leaving for a party tonight with her friends. 

I was going to be the subject of their afterparty. 

Clutching my only little friend to my chest, it had been over a week since Candace had returned my stuffed puppy to me. Her name was Poppy and I’ve had her since childhood, back when I was properly in diapers. A string of good nights mostly followed since that night, with a couple of bad nights sprinkled in occasionally. I was still scared to find out how Candace got ahold of her, wondering just what she did to obtain something from my apartment. I had poured my entire adult life into that apartment.

I had originally moved into the little two bedroom flat with my boyfriend at the time, desperate to get away from my foster parents basement. I had met him at this little store we both worked at. He eventually went on to become my manager, and things didn’t really work out once I discovered I was a lesbian, and I was left in that little two bedroom apartment by myself.

I listened through the walls for any sign that Candace had returned, pressing my ear flat against the wall, no sound whatsoever. I couldn’t see anything either, the light in my cage was fancy for sure, multicolored with varying levels of brightness, but Mistress had complete control over the light, and as a result I was often left in total darkness.

I had no idea what to expect from Candace’s guests, I’ve heard from Candace that she has a personal assistant, and that she’d invite her brother to tonight’s party, but aside from them I had zero clue who would be here. 

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was weird for Candace to invite her brother over to come gawk at her shiny new slave, but I knew from experience that he was just like her. This sort of thing seemed to run in Candace’s family, and she was the youngest of three siblings, and they all had different last names to help hide their connections to one another. 

I eventually started to hear commotion from the master bedroom signifying that Candace had returned with her guests. I sat upright, setting Poppy aside for now and looked up at her from down on my knees as Candace slowly unlocked and opened the door to my chamber. 

“I hope you’re well rested now, you have a long night ahead of you Chloe~”

“Yes Ma’am, I remember…”

“You’re to address me as Mistress for the rest of the night, understand?”

“Yes Mistress.”

“Since this will be your first time as a parlor maid, I am going to go over the rules one by one and you are going to maintain eye contact and acknowledge each rule as I go over them to show me that you are listening. Do you understand?”

“Yes Mistress.”

“Good. Just like that, again.”

“Yes Mistress.”

“As always, you’re not to mention how we met, or why you’re here, I still don’t like talking about it. If someone asks you about it, let them know you’ve been forbidden from speaking to them about it.”

“Yes Mistress…”

“If anyone tells you to fetch them drinks you’re to do so, Aria and Leah are wasted, and they’re already digging around for more.”

“Yes Mistress~”

“You’re to speak only when spoken to, if someone asks you a question, answer them completely and honestly. Do not talk back or speak out of place.”

“Yes Mistress.”

“Address everyone in the room as your superior, including Liz, who is just dying to meet you.”

“Yes Mistress!”

“You’ll be completely naked the whole time, if anyone at all wants to touch, you will let them. Do not reciprocate, do not touch anyone.”

“Y-yes Mistress…”

“Do I sense hesitation, thrall?”

“No Mistress! Not at all~”

“Good. now, if there happens to be a lull, or you feel the need to rest, you may kneel, on the floor, next to me, so that I can keep an eye on you.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“You are my property, and you’re to follow my orders first and foremost, if I tell you to do something, you will drop everything and follow my directions.”

“Of course, Mistress.”

“If you have any other concerns, need to ask a question, or get scared that someone is going to hurt you, return to my side and let me know. I will not allow any unwarranted harm to come to you in any way.”

“Yes Mistress, thank you…”

“I’m protecting you for my own sake, not yours, but now that that’s out of the way I want you to remember. Everyone is here to have fun, except for you. You’re to behave in a manner appropriate to your status to show me that you have learned from your time with me, and to prove to my guests that I have done well with training you.”

“Yes Mistress… I understand…”

“If you make me look bad again, not even I know how I’m going to punish you, so don’t fail me.”

“Yes Mistress, I promise.”

“Good, you may stand up and get to it now, oh, and Chloe?”

“Yes Mistress?”

“Keep your chin up, try to have fun, and if you can’t, at least make it look like you’re having fun~”

“Yes Mistress. Thank you Mistress.”

“The empty seat in the parlor is mine, go and kneel beside it, and wait for me to come sit down.”

Candace slipped her fingers between my neck and the metal collar clasped around it, pulling me out of my cell and into the hallway, directing me towards the parlor. 

I nervously stepped towards the commotion outside, still scared about letting Candace’s guests see me like this, completely naked save for a shock collar around my neck. There was a lot of chatting going on in the parlor already.

There were a total of six people sitting around as I walked in. Off in one corner I spotted Candace’s brother, Cyrus, who I had already had the displeasure of meeting, and sitting cross-legged in his lap was a woman around Candace’s age, who I assumed was his wife. The couple were chatting away with a woman sitting across from them on the Mistress’ large circular sofas. 

In another corner of the room sat an older woman, who I could assume was Cyrus’ mother, Candace told me she would occasionally invite her father’s ex-wife to keep him from coming to her parties. Standing across from her was a younger man standing next to the large china cabinet holding a drink in his hand already. 

Finally, my attention was drawn to the wide glass door that was open to the large front lawn outside of Candace’s mansion. Standing on the porch by herself, looking out towards the garden was a woman that I recognized as Aria Fairmont, a professional model and friend of Candace’s, who would frequently do photoshoots with her. I completely and totally froze in place as the gaze of everyone in the room moved to look up at me, standing just inside of the doorway, in awe, mouths agape as they all looked up at me standing in the doorway. I saw the expressions on every face change as the realization of who I was finally dawned on them, each of them recognizing exactly who I was, and being amazed that I was here. 

“Well look who it is~” the young man in the corner spoke up, I recognized his voice as the one I had heard weeks ago, speaking to me from the hallway. He was short and flamboyant, smiling eagerly at me. This must be the personal assistant that Candace had told me about. 

“No way!  **_That’s_ ** Chloe?!” From the other side of the room I heard the voice of Cyrus’ wife, still in awe as she realized who I was. She fidgeted in his lap, turning to face him as he began to whisper into her ear. 

The woman sitting across from the couple spoke up next. “No  _ wonder _ Candace wouldn’t let me meet you~” She held up a wine glass, turning it upside down to show off how empty it is. “When you get a chance, I’m  _ thirsty _ ~”

“Did you know about this, Malcolm?” I turned to Cyrus’ mother as I heard her speak, Candace’s assistant replied. “Candace has kept it a pretty tight secret up until this point, but she needed some help here and there, yeah~”

“You can play with her later, Elizabeth. I’m sure Candace has something planned for her~” It sounded like Cyrus was scolding his wife for not being patient, she must be the one who was excited to finally meet me, yet something seemed off between the two of them. 

Silently, I found my place on the floor beside the couch, where I assumed Candace was sitting. I diverted my eyes, unable to take anymore of being the center of attention, looking out through the large open window and out onto the porch, gazing into the night sky, a sight I hadn’t seen in months, wishing I could just run through those doors and be free from this nightmare forever.

“Don’t be getting any ideas, plaything~” Candace sat down on the couch, towering over me as usual. “Well everyone, this is the girl I’ve been talking about, her name is Chloe, I selected her myself, she was quite a difficult pet to catch, but she’s been worth it, isn’t that right Chloe~” Candace ran her fingers through my hair, slumping on the couch casually as she pulls my locks into a tight grip, slowly lifting me up onto my feet by my hair “Why don’t you go get us a tray of drinks, I don’t care how many, we’ll drink them all~” Almost immediately after getting settled, I rose and walked back the way I came, into the kitchen, I was not looking forward to this kind of get together becoming a regular occurrence.

Despite spending much of my day in the kitchen crafting each and every one of the Mistress’ meals with painstaking amounts of effort, I did not actually know where she kept her alcohol. Most of the drawers and utensils were locked away to keep me from getting into anything that I’m not meant to. I pause as I’m looking through the drawers, if I wasn’t completely naked I’d think of hiding away a few knives and making some sort of escape attempt, but being surrounded by so many people makes me think that tonight is likely not the time to make another escape attempt. 

“She keeps the drinks over here, Chloe.” 

It was that voice again, Malcolm, Candace’s personal assistant. It would only make sense for him to know a little bit more about the house, knowing now that he watches over the place while Candace is away. I turned around to face him, standing on the other side of the counter from me, leaning against one of the shelves as I slowly placed glasses of wine onto a tray.

“Yes Sir, thank you.”

“I take it you liked your puppy then?”

“I love her.. But how did you find her? Do you have the rest of my things… what happened to them…”

“You should know better than to speak out of line. I’m not going to be bailing you out of any trouble tonight~”

“I… I forgot… Sorry…”

“Sounds like Candace has something planned for you tonight, good luck~” 

I should have known that Candace was planning something, I was told that I’d be the subject of tonight, after all. I made my way back to Candace’s side, setting a tray of miscellaneous drinks down onto the table. Candace merely looked at me and smirked, picking a beer bottle up from the tray and holding it out to me. 

“The woman sulking on the porch, you know who that is, bring this to her~”

“You mean outside, Mistress?”

“Yeah, take your time, I know you haven’t gotten to see the house’s exterior before~”

“Because you don’t trust me to leave the house without running?”   
“Not unless it’s a night like tonight, you did promise to behave~”

“Yes Mistress…”

She gestured for me to leave, a smug grin on her face as she watched me. Everyone in the house was watching me, staring over my naked body even as they speak, snickering to themselves about my predicament. From the way that they stared, I could tell that they recognized me, they’d all seen my face somewhere before, and though I was flattered, it was terrifying. 

My ears began ringing as I walked, my knees shaking with pain as I felt electricity spreading through my body from the collar. I dropped the bottle almost instantly, it didn’t shatter, but its contents did spill, pooling out onto the floor. When it was done, I turned back to see Candace’s smug grin.   
“Clean that up and get her a new one, maid~” 

I whimpered to myself, still in pain from being shocked as I rose to my knees to retrieve another beer for Aria. 

This time Aria watched me as I approached, reaching out and taking the bottle from me as soon as my feet landed on the porch. 

“You’re pathetic. No wonder you bend over and squeal for the good witch over there~”

“...Good witch?”

“Candace. You moron. I can not believe that there’s someone so pitiful, that our little sweetheart,  **_Candace_ ** , can tame, I never thought it’d be possible~”

“...She’s not a sweetheart, Ma’am.”

I had only started taking in the view of the house from the outside, still amazed by how beautiful it was, when I felt the glass bottle shatter on the backside of my head, and my ears were once again ringing in pain. Before I could even reach to cover them, Aria had her fist wrapped around my earlobe, pulling me back inside by force, slumping me down on my knees before Candace.

“Aria!! What did you do?!” I heard Candace’s voice through the ringing, trying to speak up and ask for her help. “She hurt me Mistress…” 

“Silence, now.”

“Oh don’t get all sorry for her, I only smacked her upside the head, she’s not even bleeding.”

“You can’t just smash a beer bottle on my servant’s head, Aria.”

“If you had heard what came out of her mouth, you would have done the same~!”

“...And what did she say?”

I recoiled in place as I saw Candace shift her anger to me, still lying on the floor. 

“This  **_thing_ ** tried to insist that our Candace here, isn’t a  _ sweetheart~ <3 _ ”

“...Did she really?”

“Why don’t you ask her~?”

“No… It sounds like she deserved what she got, didn’t you Chloe?”

I looked up at her in terror, nodding my head hesitantly, tears starting to drip down my cheek.

“Anyways~” Aria spoke up again, leaning down and grabbing another beer for herself “Where’s Thea?”

“Thea is in her bedroom, getting used to the new kitten.”

“You got a new kitten! Where is she? Can you bring her out?”

“Not tonight… She’s still acclimating. Besides, tonight’s about Chloe proving her submission to me, right Chloe?”

I sniffled, nodding my head at her. “Yes Mistress.” I hadn’t realized that Candace had gotten a second cat. Especially knowing how much I hated the first one.

Aria practically downed a whole bottle of booze in one chug, setting the empty bottle back down and grabbing a new one. “Is she cute Chloe? You like cats don’t you?”

I turned to look at Aria again, wiping my tears from my face, sighing in frustration.

“...I’m allergic to cats…”

“Pftt, that’s probably why she got a new one~”

I repositioned myself once again, kneeling next to my Mistress as her fellow model walked back towards the porch, a drink in hand. 

“Sounds like she’s having a bit of difficulty taming you after all, huh?”

“Shut up Cyrus, she’s my first slave.”

“ _ My  _ first slave didn’t act up like this, ever.”

“I highly doubt that, brother.”

“Aria has a point though, you have always been a sweetheart, that’s why people like you~” 

“I am fully capable of being mean, Cyrus!”

“Since when? You’re almost as subdued as Elizabeth, you can’t even bring yourself to order her around without feeling bad about it~”

“I can too!”

I started hearing the other guests giggle, Cyrus’ mother, Lilith, was now sitting next to him on the opposite sofa, chattering away with Leah across from her, as everyone, including Liz, started to giggle at Candace’s expense. 

I had noticed something was off about Liz the whole night, but I was only just starting to put the pieces together. She was now on the other side of the table, across from me, not sitting on the sofa, but kneeling on the floor next to her husband. 

She had her own jewelry around her neck, a day collar that her husband makes her wear in public, and she was fidgeting impatiently, not speaking a word as she fiddled with her shoulder length brown hair, the tips dyed mint green.

She wasn’t  **just** Cyrus’ wife, she was his slave. It was her enthusiasm that caught me off guard, I hadn’t thought someone as enthusiastic about her Master as Elizabeth was could have been a slave, knowing how much I hate my own position. She looked like a rat, ready to pounce at a scrap of food, hanging onto Cyrus’ every command. 

She also had a weird tag on her right ear, like a cattle tag, it was almost pure silver, with her name, Liz, printed on the front along with the number 0001, and it had the initials, CG, engraved on the back.

“Sure you can, little sis, I believe you~”

“Cut the sarcasm.” Candace was blushing, clearly getting embarrassed seeing each of her guests seem to call her out on being a pushover. 

“I guess I’d rather say,  _ I will believe you, once I’ve  _ **_seen it_ ** . That’s why we’re here isn’t it, Candace?”

“By the end of this, you’ll be calling me  _ Miss St. Clair _ .”

“Sure I will~”

Candace was only getting more and more flustered by her older brother and his arrogant attitude, and his wife seemed to be swooning over it. She turned to me, audibly huffing in frustration. 

“I ought to punish you for speaking bad about me, but you have the right idea Chloe, I’m  **_not_ ** a sweetheart, am I?” She gestured for me to answer, uncrossing her legs and nudging me.

“No, Mistress, you’re not a sweetheart, or a pushover....”

“Good girl Chloe, Since you’ve already gotten your head pounded, I’ll let it go now, I have plans for you tonight anyways~”

“Yes Mistress… Thank you…”

“By the way, how was the view of the mansion, did you notice anything you hadn’t seen before?”

“I didn’t get to look at it for very long, Mistress.”

“That’s alright, did you at least enjoy what you saw?”

“Yes Mistress. It was almost as beautiful as you…”

Candace stopped, clearly taken off guard by the unexpected compliment, her face getting even more flustered.

“Awwww, my little sister has her first admirer~”

“Shut up, Griffin!!!”

“ _ That’s Mr. Griffin to you, young lady~ _ ”

“Cyrus, I will beat your head in harder than Aria with an empty beer bottle.”

By this point, the guests were doing more than just giggling at their host, Leah seemed to be busting her gut laughing at all of this as it went down, and I could hear that Malcolm and Aria had joined in from the table up front as well. 

Mistress St. Clair had ordered me to try to have fun, and seeing Cyrus’ wife across from me giggling at my owner, I couldn’t help but smile, beginning to giggle at Candace’s expense as well.

Candace did not appreciate this.

As soon as I made eye contact with her I could see her concentrating all of her pent up anger and frustration towards me, standing up and kicking me in the chest. She slammed me to the ground under her boot, stepping down on my chest and pinning me in place as she fumed. Her maroon heeled leather boots were thick, and painful as they dug into one of my breasts, lying in pain on my back as she pressed down, threatening to pop them.

“ **_You_ ** should know by now that you are not a guest here! You are not here to have fun, you are here because I want you here, to prove to  **_me_ ** that you are worthy of living in my house, to prove to me that you know your place!!!  **Not to have fun.** I told you to try to have fun, but  _ not _ at my expense, you’re to prove to them how well your  _ MISTRESS!!  _ HAS!!! TAMED YOU!!!!”

She picked her foot up off of my chest and slammed the back of my head back into the ground, causing even more pain to my already aching head. By the time the ringing had subsided once more, the room was almost completely silent, but that only lasted for a few moments before everyone started to giggle once again. 

“Well little sis… I believe you now~” Cyrus lifted his drink, tapping it against the drink in Candace’s hand for a toast. 

“Thank you, it comes naturally to me now~”

“As it usually does with practice, I’m proud of you~”

“It’s nothing, didn’t you say that Liz wanted to play with her?”

“She does indeed~”

“Let her have at it then, while I have Malcolm get the things ready.”

“Hear that pet? Go. Play. Just don’t break her.”

Before I’d even had the chance to sit back up, I saw Liz looming over me, on all fours, her hands firmly planted next to my head as she looked down at me.

“Hi Chloe~! I’m Liz! I’ve heard you’re  _ really stupid _ , so I figured I might as well make sure you know in case you haven’t figured that out~”

“H-hello M-ma’am…”

“ _ Ma’am??? _ I like how that sounds… The most respectful thing I’ve ever been called is Mrs. Griffin, but I like that…”

“Mistress said t-”

“To treat  **_everyone_ ** as your superior, including me, I’ve been looking forward to this~”

“...L-looking forward to what…”

“To putting the fresh little  **omega fuckmeat** in its place, Isn’t that right Master~?”

I looked up towards Cyrus, lifting my head to see him from beneath his slave.

“Yes of course  **_My Darling_ ** , make your Master proud~”

“Yes Master!” Liz turned back to me, slamming her forehead into mine, forcing my head back onto the ground.

“You’re less than worthless aren’t you Chloe? That’s why you’re  _ perfect _ for our Candace, you’re not even fit to be called an omega~”

“I- I- I- mmmph….”

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, unable to speak as I felt Liz place her hands on my breasts, pressing her weight down on them. She squeezed them in her hands, giggling to herself at the chance to torment me.

“So pathetic, I love her!”

“P-please… that hurts…”

“When Cyrus told me about Candace’s new slave, I never imagined it would be  **_you~!!!_ ** I should have expected Candace to get her revenge on you~”

“I-I’m not allowed to talk… about it…”

“Awe… that’s a shame~”

“...Please let me up?”

“Not until you tell me who you belong to, that way I know you’ll stay in your place~”

“I’m… Candace’s…”

I felt Liz slowly move off of me, letting me regain my composure, leaning towards me to whisper into my ear.

“Just do as she says and she’ll take good care of you. She takes very good care of her property, you’ll come to love it eventually~”

Liz placed one of her hands on top of mine and smiled happily towards me before looking up at Candace, returning to the couch. 

“Please tell your pet to heel, Cyrus~”

“Alright cutie, you’ve had your fun, silence yourself and come kneel.”

I watched as Elizabeth reluctantly returned to her Master, climbing up into his lap once more.

“I hope you had fun with Liz~” Candace sat back down on the couch, pointing at the ground in front of her. “Come kneel before me for my forgiveness,  **NOW.** ”

I didn’t hesitate, I placed my head in her lap, beginning to sob loudly as I knelt. 

“Please… I’m sorry for everything Mistress… I”

“NO, not  _ everything _ , what did you do, tonight, to deserve my wrath, what are you apologizing for?”

“I- I’m sorry for giggling at you Mistr-”

“And  _ why _ aren’t you allowed to giggle at my expense?”

“Because you’re my  **superior** ….”

“Very good. Look at me.”

I lifted my head up to meet her gaze, tears still flowing from my eyes. She patted the empty seat between her and Leah, forcing me to lay next to her with my head in her lap, as she slowly stroked my hair. 

“Lay here and rest with Mistress, while my assistant gets the garden ready outside.”

I murmured back to her, nuzzling my head into her lap.

Leah giggled again, setting another empty wine bottle down on the table.    
“You really have done well with her huh, Candy Cane?”

“Leah did you… drink an entire bottle of my wine…”

“This is  **me** you’re talking to, of course I did~”   
“You have a problem…”   
“No  **you** have a problem~” She snickered, tapping my ass with a cold beer bottle she picked up off of the table. 

“I assure you, I am more than capable of handling this little cow~”

“I can see that, she’s even more castrated than you~”

“ **_LEAH!!!!_ ** ”

“Right… We don’t talk about that, speaking of neutering animals, I don’t even know why you’re having her  **_spayed_ ** , it’s not like you can get her pregnant any-”

“Leah!!! Shut up!”

“...Maybe that is enough booze for tonight.” I looked up, trying to figure out what was happening, seeing Leah place the bottle back on the tray.

“Take the tray back to the kitchen Chloe, we’re almost done for tonight-”

“You’re having me spayed?!” Tears had started pouring down my face again, flushed with fear and humiliation. 

“Do as I say before I slap you. We are not talking about this right now. Go.”

I stood up, taking the tray back to the kitchen, wiping tears from my eyes as I returned to the parlor. Lilith was now sitting next to Candace, her hand on my Mistress’ shoulder. 

“I would be proud to have you as my daughter, Candace~”

“Thank you Miss Mariam. That means a lot… Do you think I’ll ever get Claudia to come out to one of these?”

“I doubt it hon… My daughter has never been that type of person…”

“She’s always been so distant with me…”

“She didn’t get along with your mother very well.”

“That’s not my fault!”

“I know it’s not your fault sweetie, your mother sounded like a wonderful woman.”

“She was…”

“I’m sure she was… But you’ll always have us, sweetheart~”

“Thank you..”

“I must ask though, did you really have to brand that girl with that symbol? Couldn’t you have put your name on her?”

“She knows exactly what that symbol means, but since you mention it anyways… We’re about to take Chloe outside, for her new brand, something more personalized this time~”

Candace brought me outside, her assistant had just finished getting everything set up, she knelt me down onto the ground next to a large metal post, the kind you would restrain cattle with. 

“I hope your ready, my little calf, if anyone is squeamish I’d suggest you go back inside while I’m handling the human cow over here~”

I nervously look down at the grass below, anxiously awaiting whatever it was that Candace was going to brand me with. I shyly looked around at all of the onlookers, each of Candace’s guests looking over from on the porch.

“Before we start, I want to hear you go Moo~”

“M-moo….” My voice is shaky and my face is flushed with humiliation as Candace reaches down, clasping large metal shackles around my arms and placing a large bit gag, like a large leather rod, into my mouth, restraining me to all fours as she clasps it around the back of my head. 

I was on my knees, my hands cuffed and restrained to the metal post in front of me, a large leather gag in my mouth, also attached to the post, completely helpless to escape.

Candace positioned herself on a stool in front of me, tilting my head up with her hand. I watched in horror as she pulled out a box full of needles, holding my right ear between her fingers as she pierced it. I had gotten my ears pierced before, but it was always by a professional, and I was relieved to see that Candace knew exactly what she was doing by the time she was done. 

She pierced right around the middle of my ear, attaching a shiny metal ornament to it, she had attached a cattle tag to my ear, like you would attach to a cow. It was rose gold, and rectangular, and to my surprise, had my name engraved onto it, in addition to a number, and on the back, Mistress St. Clair’s initials.

“We assign numbers to each and every one of our slaves. I know you can’t read this, but yours is 0000, we save the special numbers for our personal slaves~”

I squirmed in pain, this was the same tag that Liz had on her ear, and I didn’t want to know what other extreme Candace planned on taking this, I wouldn’t have to wait very long to find out unfortunately, as Candace tilted my head back, beginning to place the needle into my nose. 

“And a nice matching little nose ring for my nice little cow~” 

Unable to jerk my head around, Candace did as she promised, piercing the needle in the appropriate spot through my nose, and adding a rose gold metal nose ring to make me look even more like cattle, as I cried out in pain through the gag.

Everyone was still watching, and waiting, they’d been promised a brand, and they were going to get one. Candace gave me a few more minutes to recover, while she prepared her branding iron. She once again sat down in front of me, blowing on the iron, the tip of it wasn’t red with heat this time however, she brought it in front of my face to let me see what she was going to be putting on my skin this time. “Property of C St. C”.

Those were her initials.

That was why she hadn’t branded me with them last time.

She’d been waiting for tonight to get to brand me, permanently, as her property, in front of everyone she knew, to make a point out of it, to prove herself to be superior to me, to what felt like the whole world.

When she waved it in front of my face I realized why it wasn’t glowing, it wasn’t hot, the air around it felt cold.

Freezing cold. Not dry ice, liquid nitrogen. She was going to freeze brand me. 

I squealed loudly through the gag, I hated the cold, I would even take the hot branding iron over this. She stood up and kicked her stool down, walking behind me, twirling the iron. 

“Now you’ll have a visible reminder, at all times, of  **_who OWNS YOU._ ** ”

She pressed it deep into my skin, just above the previous brand, which dwarfs in comparison to this new brand, almost like a little symbol to punctuate Candace’s ownership of me. It was like I was screaming into the abyss, the pain of my backside freezing threatening to send my entire body into shock. 

She ran her hand over my cold dry skin, outlining the letters in her initials, before sitting down in front of me, cupping my cheeks in her hand. ”Just like that, now you’ll never forget, will you Chloe?” I shook my head, tears still streaming out from my eyes. “Very good, Chloe. Now, you’re going to sleep out here tonight, okay?”

Still helpless to do anything about it and not wanting to make my Mistress any angrier tonight, I nodded my head in agreement, she once again curled her fingers in my hair, climbing on top of me and sitting on my back while on all fours.

And just like that, the night seemed to be over.

“I hope you’ve all enjoyed yourself tonight, I know little Chloe here has~”

In short succession after Candace was done putting on her show, the guests seemed to slowly make their way home, one by one, until it was just Leah left.

“You’ll be sleeping out here tonight Chloe~” Candace stepped back onto the ground, nodding at the other woman. “Leah has agreed to babysit you tonight, to make sure you don’t escape, as a way of making it up to me~”

I watched as Candace leaned down, still too weak to fight back, as she kissed me once on the forehead. 

“My cattle did very well tonight after all, goodnight Chloe, Mistress is very happy with you~”

  
  



	4. Puppy Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is later than i wanted it to be, i don't imagine anyone is actually keeping up with this story, but i want to try and make uploads weekly just for my own sake.
> 
> Anyways, i now know how many chapters act one will be, 6.
> 
> After part 6 i plan on going back in time and doing a little intermission.

“...Alright you stupid bitch, wake up!”

I was chained up outside, still reeling from the afterparty. Candace was already dressed, digging her heels into my side to wake me up. Slowly opening my hazel eyes as I looked up to see her. The metal restraints were still clasped around my wrists, warmed from a night of contact with my skin. I dug my teeth into the leather bit gag still strapped around my head. She was looming over me, having already showered and gotten dressed for the day. 

“Good morning my little mongrel~!!!”

Candace seemed to erupt into cheerful humming as I awoke, kneeling down next to me and beginning to unlock my restraints. I rubbed my eyes free from specks, watching as she attached a leash to my rose gold collar. 

“I’ve relieved you from your normal duties for today. I thought you might need the rest, and Leah was here to help with breakfast anyways~” She pulled my muzzle out from her purse, unstrapping the bit gag from my mouth and replacing it. “I’ve never had a dog before, this should be fun! We’re building you a doghouse today~! You’ll have a place to sleep outside next time I feel like it~” I whined through the muzzle, shaking my head in protest, which was quickly met with a slap to the face. “For the rest of the day, you’re my mutt, my dog, my  _ bitch~ _ ” She tightened her grasp on the leash, rising to her feet and looking down at me. “And I expect you to piss yourself like a dog while we’re still out here~”

She waited for me to do so, yanking me to my feet once I was done, dragging me back inside. “And as my pooch for today, you have the distinguished privilege of using my pet’s shower to clean yourself up~” She pinched my cheek, walking me through the parlor and turning towards Thea’s bedroom. As I walked through the hallway on my bare feet, I remembered something that Candace had mentioned last night. 

Thea is Candace’s cat, and I hate her. Candace’s house has several bedrooms, and one of them belongs to this fucking cat, the only other creature that lived in this house before I showed up, and one of my weekly duties requires me to bathe her, an activity that I thoroughly despise.

I’m allergic to cats. Candace couldn’t have known this before she abducted me from my previous life, but once she found out, she jumped at the chance to make me miserable by adopting another kitten. 

Candace unlocked the door to the bedroom, shoving me inside and onto the floor. The room had beds and furniture for the cats, but none sized for a human puppy. Candace stood between me and the door, smirking happily. 

“Put your paws up for me pup~”

I watched Candace press a button on her bracelet, and in an instant I felt a strong surge of electricity flowing through my body. This time it felt different, this time the shocks were coming from my forearms rather than the pink metal band around my neck, it was like I was being struck by lightning from inside of my own body, deep inside of my muscles, underneath my skin. I whimper loudly, curling my hands into fists and holding them to my chest, just above my breasts.

She implanted things inside of me without me knowing. I barely have enough time to consider what else she might have put inside of me before I watch her slowly kneel down to unlock my muzzle. “If you bite me, I will put you down like a real dog.” She removed the muzzle and stood back up, pressing the devices on her bracelet once again. The shock implements in my arms didn’t turn off, but their intensity did go down, now feeling like a faint jolt, not enough to hurt, but enough to make moving them uncomfortable and difficult. 

By this point, both Thea and the new kitten had awoken, crawling out of their little hidey holes to come see their mom. Candace leaned down to pet Thea, stroking the back of the adult black cat. The kitten however, decided to come check me out, the little calico thing rubbing against my bare skin as I kneeled on the carpeted floor, which was already covered in cat hair. The little thing mewed at me, hoping for me to reach down and pet her, but even if I could move my own paws, my allergies would discourage me from doing so. 

That doesn’t seem to satisfy Candace however, glaring at me from across the carpet, still leaning down to play with Thea. “Well go on. Pet her.”

I grimace anxiously. “But… I’m allergic…” Candace smirked, that smug grin painted onto her sexy face, she knew very well how I reacted around cats, that’s why she had gotten a new kitten in the first place, and she was clearly very eager to lock me in with her for the whole day. “That’s  **preposterous** , I’ve never heard of a dog being allergic to cats before, you must just not like them because you’re a dim-witted brainless mutt, now pet her.”

I took a deep breath, it was extremely painful to try moving my arms while they were being electrocuted like this, almost paralyzed into place. My fingers twitched slightly as I stroked her fur, scratching her behind the ears for a few moments before pulling my hand back, watching the kitten curl up into a ball next to my legs.

“Good girl~” That seemed to satisfy Candace, standing back up and letting Thea wander off back towards her bed. 

“I trust that you’ll play nice with Sophia while I’m gone~”

I quickly turned to face her, astonished to hear that name, staring at Candace with the most dumbfounded look on my face. “...Sophia? I… Who are you referring to?”

Sophia Cavalier was the name of Candace’s rival, the girl who she lost to during this year’s world championship. Candace cites her as the one who crushed her dream of becoming the first woman to win the tournament. 

“Who do you think, Chloe?” She simply smiled at me, gesturing to the calico kitten next to my lap and grinning proudly. 

“Why would you… Why would you name your cat after someone you  _ hate _ so much?” Unamused, the scowl on my face changed to a look of confusion.

“I guess it’s my tribute to her~”

“That still doesn’t explain anything… Why a tribute?”

She looked at me and sighed, a disappointed expression on her face. “Supposedly… A few months after the championship… Sophia Cavalier died in a car crash.”

I stared up at her nervously, hoping that she was joking. “Who told you that?”

“Well it wasn’t covered on mainstream news, if that’s what you’re asking, but all of the major gaming publications did run an article on her… looks like it was a suicide…” Candace paused for a few moments before turning and glaring at me. “It’s a shame too… I was always her biggest fan… right from the beginning…”

I swallowed nervously, taking a good look at the kitten before looking back up at Candace. “Were you really?”

She smiled at me, a faint pink blush visible on her cheeks. “I was… And I still am…” She sighed, her smile fading.. “I would have liked a rematch with her.”

“You could have just asked her for one...”

“I know… But it’s too late now…”

I simply held my tongue, knowing very well what kind of trouble I’d be getting myself into if I continued to speak out of line like this. 

“Now if you don’t want me to kick you in the head for talking back just now, I suggest you crawl your way over here and kiss my boot before it’s too late.”

I nodded at her, painstakingly placing both of my aching arms on the ground and crawling to her on all fours like a dog, looking up at her with red cheeks before leaning down and kissing the toe of her black leather boot. I can hear her chuckle to herself as she slips her boot out from beneath my lips and stepping onto the back of my head, pressing my face into the floor. She slammed my head into the ground under her weight, watching my arms give out beneath me. 

“How  **_DARE you_ ** get your filthy BITCH slobber on my shoes, you ugly disgusting mutt? Do you even realize how much more these boots are worth compared to you~” She lifted her foot from my head, finally deactivating the shock devices in my arms so that I can lift myself back up.

“I don’t want to break you just yet, Chloe, you’re my pet today after all, I’ll get to abuse you tonight. As long as you do a few things for me while you wait, you’ll get to relax in here with the kittens all day~” 

She tapped her foot against the small pet hatch in the wall, adjacent to the door.

“You’ll be getting fed like you normally feed the cats, you’ll have a bowl delivered through this little pet hatch for you. If you try to escape through this hatch, who knows what other nasty little devices you’ve already got in that cute little body of yours, but you’re welcome to try. Make sure to bathe my cats, the door to their bathroom is open, I’m a cat person after all, that means they outrank you, but the cage is just special for you~”

She smiled proudly, gesturing to the large dog kennel next to the oversized cat tower. 

“Be good, and I’ll take you for a walk tonight~”

I looked up at her, last night was the first time Candace had ever let me outside of the house, and I was surprised that she would be eager to do that again so soon. Candace picked little Sophia up from beside me with one hand, picking my leash up with the other and dragging me to the corner of the room where she’s set up a little playpen for the kitten. I followed on all fours, watching her lower the cat into the playpen.

“Little Sophia is still just a kitten, so I’ve set up this little pen for her to stay in to help her adjust. She’s not big enough to get out of it on her own, but Thea can get in it if she wants to, just make sure she doesn’t escape. I can’t have her wandering the rest of the house.”

Candace leaned down and unclasped the leash from my collar, glaring me in the eyes as she stood back up and made her way towards the door, locking it behind her to make sure that I didn't follow her out. 

Candace loved these two little atrocities a lot, and it showed, she clearly put a lot of thought into this room, and by the looks of it, she would personally come in to take care of them. She opened the little cat door and delivered three bowls of food. A small bowl of special food for Sophia, a medium sized bowl of cat food for Thea, and a large bowl of food for me, much larger than what she usually fed me in the morning, and it was full of meat! Actual meat!! I looked the bowl over to make sure it was intended for me and not for one of the cats, and sure enough, engraved in yellow letters on the side of the peach colored bowl, was my name, Chloe, along with other little decorations, my favorite being the little picture of a paw.

The bowl was filled with sliced lunch meats, like turkey, honey ham and smoked ham, roast beef, as well as cooked meats like sausage patties and bacon. I sat up and pulled it into my lap, picking up a few slices with my hands and was preparing to stuff them in my mouth when I heard Candace’s voice again, this time on the intercom.

“I leave you for literally fifteen seconds and you’ve already forgotten your place?”

I glance around the room, not knowing where to look, a nervous expression on my face. “I… I’m sorry... D-did I do something wrong?” I heard her sigh, the sound of disappointment in her voice making my heart ache nervously, I didn’t want her to be mad at me, I loved when she was happy with me. “I can still see and hear you from anywhere in the house, Chloe, and I _thought_ I had made it clear that I would spoil you as long as you behaved like my good sweet little **bitch~** ” I could tell by the cooing in her voice that I was being called a dog.   
“Put the bowl down and eat like a dog, or else you won’t be getting seconds~” I quickly set the bowl aside and got down on my hands and knees, if I had a tail I could tell it would be wagging. “S-seconds? You mean like... more food??” I was practically drooling at her words as they came out of her mouth. “That is generally how you train a puppy, moron. What part about **spoil** don’t you understand? If you eat all your food like a good girl, I’ll bring you more~” 

Why was she treating me so well all of a sudden? Was it because of last night, did I do something to impress her, and now I’m being rewarded? Or was this all a mind game, using positive reinforcement to encourage more desirable behavior in me? It didn’t make much sense to me, but I didn’t really care. Laying down on my stomach in front of the bowl, I carefully place my own front paws on either side of it to make sure it doesn’t get knocked out of place while I eat. My own peachy orange hair got caught up in my mouth quite a few times as I ate, getting food in it as I pushed my face into the bowl, but sure enough when I was finished with the first bowl she refilled it for me. I placed my chin on the floor behind my hands as she grabbed the bowl and took it with her, waiting like a desperate puppy for her to return. She filled it again, this time with cheeses and little fruits along with the meat. When I did eventually finish my bowl, I got to work cleaning litter boxes and organizing the room, tormented by Thea more and more as I tried putting her toys away.

Sophia was me mewling for me, she was the one who needed my attention. I had no way of knowing how old the little thing was, she was tiny and wanted a lot of attention, nervously pawing at the walls of her pen, but what I did know is that I was quite allergic to her. The kitten clearly just wanted a playmate, but that was not a role I was willing to play. 

Being allergic to dust already made my life in this house a nightmare, but over time I’d gotten used to it, seeing that daily cleanings kept dust from collecting in the first place, but the cats made my eyes water, itch, and turn red. They made my nose simultaneously congested and runny at the same time. My throat was sore and itchy, I couldn’t stop sneezing, and It made it hard to breathe. Candace may be a cat person, but I was obviously not, even if I wasn’t allergic I would still hate these little monsters. Sophia made me especially angry, just hearing her name in my head messed with me. 

I picked her up from the playpen, trying as hard as I could not to squeeze her to death in my hands. Might as well get the bath out of the way, she was playful, excited to meet someone new. I set her down gently in the bathtub, turning the water on, I was surprised to see that she loved the water, splashing around in it, unable to sit still. I managed to dry her off with minimal scratch marks, putting her back into her playpen once I was done.

Thea was a different matter, I had to wait for Thea, watching through the cat door for her to come back, I always hated it when Thea left her room, because it meant I had to clean up after her. Thea was considerably more feisty and aggressive with me, but I managed to clean her as well. The cats have their own bathroom attached to their bedroom, and Candace had the toilet replaced with a litter box for them. 

My allergies had only gotten worse as I bathed the cats, so I decided to take a shower, my collar was waterproof, and I knew that neither of the cats would make their way in here while I was bathing myself. I went through the painstaking effort of cleaning the bathtub, making sure to wash all of the cat hairs from the tub so that I wouldn’t have an even worse reaction when I showered.

Right when I was almost done cleaning the bathtub however, I watched as the water shut off on its own. I nervously turned the handle, trying to get the water to come back on, to no avail. Someone had shut the water off on me before I could bathe.

I looked around the room, looking for a camera. “Candace!! You said I would get to use your pet’s shower?” I was exasperated, the last thing I wanted was to be denied a shower while my body ached like this. Sure enough, she was listening.

“I said that  **as my dog** , you would get the privilege of using the shower, and you will get to use it  **as** **_my DOG._ ** That means if you behave on your walk, I will bathe and groom you myself~” She scolded me, but something about what she said was exciting me, being bathed by another woman sounded delightful. Candace had never touched me like that, like how Cyrus handled Liz during the party. 

I’d never felt the touch of another girl like that, my last partner was my manager, Justin, and he was my first and only real long-term relationship. We’re still on good terms, or we were before I was abducted, but we were friends. I hated to think that it was living with him that helped me realize that I was into women. He was still my manager, but he decided it better to move out and let me have that apartment to myself. I wonder if he missed me, maybe if he hadn’t moved out I wouldn’t have been abducted in the first place. But right now I was drooling over  **_her._ **

“Go to your kennel, Chloe.” 

I did as I was told, peeking into the playpen to make sure Sophia was safe before climbing into the dog kennel and closing the door. At least in here the cats couldn’t reach me. 

I must have fallen asleep in my kennel because I was awoken by the sound of the door being opened, Candace was sitting on top of the black metal cage, looking down at me. “Attack me and I will euthanize you.”

  
I slowly crawled out of my cage, letting Candace get me ready to go outside. She placed my hands in these padded mittens, shaped like paws. Walking me to the sofa, she secured a leash to my collar, pulling my face close to hers, I could feel her breath on my skin, my cheeks turning red. She tilted her head slightly, bringing my lips to hers. I kissed her back, whimpering quietly through my lips, my heart beating faster than it ever had before. I placed my paws on her thighs, pushing myself closer to her, wanting to tackle her onto the cushions. My paws instead being guided to her shoulders, I felt her putting her hands on my hips, helping me into her lap on the couch. She slid her hands from my hips to my ass, squeezing each cheek as we kissed. She pulled away after a few moments, breathing heavily. I felt her pushing something inside of me, turning around to watch her slowly push a butt plug into my anus. This plug was decorated with a dog tail, the fluffy white and black fur of a border collie. With a fair amount of resistance she finally pushed the butt plug into place, letting me catch my breath.

It was beautiful outside, the sun was just setting, and I could feel the cool end of summer air on my face as we walked. I crawled on my hands and knees beside Candace, staying close to her legs, my tail wagging as my hips swayed slightly. She took me out into the front lawn, overlooking the beautiful garden view out in the front of the house. I could see the large front gate, one of the only gaps in the gorgeously decorated hedges that surround the mansion, and between that gate and the house stood an immaculately carved stone fountain, the centerpiece of the garden. 

We continued to walk, together, around the outside of the house, silently taking in the sunset view inside of the beautiful garden. On the south end of the house was the foyer, the main entrance into the house, and opposite it was the garage. My knees scraped against the hard pavement of the driveway as I crawled, still being tugged around on a leash. 

Around the back of the house, to the west, was that beautiful sunset. From the dining room the beach and the ocean were illuminated by the setting sun. I wanted to say something to Candace, how beautiful the sunset was, but I wasn’t watching the sunset, I was still just watching her. 

She was more beautiful than any sunset. Her platinum hair sparkled in the orange sunlight, her ghostly pale skin radiated with purity. I knew I couldn’t escape, but in this light, I didn’t want to. 

We finally rounded the corner, I could see the pool, still as the night, the sky above beginning to reflect on its surface. On the other side, next to a large sand pit, stood a newly built doghouse, painted yellow and peach, with my name on it. It was big too, complete with a second story, it almost looked more like a poolside playground.

“You can thank me now~” Candace nudged my side with her knee high sapphire leather boots. She looked down at me expectantly, another grin on her face.    
“I have nothing to thank you for…”

“Really now? You’ve been behaving so well, and  **now** you want to be like this?”

“Be like what, Ma’am? I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. I behaved at your party, I slept outside, I bathed your cats, I’ve acted like a dog, I did all of that for  **you** . And you want me to thank you? For a doghouse that I don’t even want?”

Candace was clearly getting frustrated, her face flushed with aggravation. “I’ve done a lot for you today Chloe, and you don’t seem to appreciate any of it!”

“What am I supposed to thank you for, Candace? For NOT waking me up to make your breakfast for you? For feeding me  _ actual _ food for a change? For letting me sleep in a cage instead of mopping your floors? For making me suffer through an allergic reaction? For touching me without my consent? For building me a stupid doghouse to sleep in instead of letting me live a normal life? WHAT, Candace? What should I be thanking you for?!”

“ **You should thank me for spending time with you!!!** ” Candace’s voice was beginning to crack. Her beautiful blue eyes were tearing up in the corners.

“I’m  **tired** of doing this Chloe. I’m  **tired** of you talking back to me like this, because every time you do this I have to punish you, lock you away, and try again tomorrow. I don’t  **WANT** to lock you up in your cell and try again tomorrow, I want you to cooperate with me  **TODAY.** ” She sighed loudly, tightening her grip on the leash. “I want you to fall in love with me, Chloe… not for you to keep biting back and spending the rest of your life in that cell… rotting away…” 

I could feel tears beginning to roll down my cheeks, staring up into her eyes. I  **_was_ ** falling in love with her, and I wished I wasn’t. I hold my tongue, tugging on my end of the leash as I lift the hem of her dress, kissing her thighs, hoping to wordlessly gain her forgiveness.

“This is your last chance for tonight, Chloe. Do you want a bath?”

I look into her eyes and nod. Settling back into place at her side. 

“I won’t bathe a dog, not unless she’s my bitch. So decide, what are you?”

“I’m your bitch.”

“Good girl. We’ll check out the doghouse another night.”

  
  


Candace turned the water back on just fine, helping me into the bathtub once it was full. The water was warm and cozy, better than any shower Candace has let me have before. I was completely naked again, and Candace had changed into her more casual attire. She began running her hands up my back, getting my body wet. 

“How does it feel?”    
“It’s nice…” 

“The water or my hands?”

“Both…”

She kept me on all fours while she bathed me, my breasts submerged in the water. Sighing happily as her soft skin touched mine. 

“Haven’t you had a woman touch you before?”

“N-not like this…”   
“You really are a useless lesbian huh?”   
“I never said I was a lesbian!!”

“I’ve seen your internet history, Chloe. There’s no skirting around that.”

“You didn’t!!”   
“Breast  **and** ass expansion? Erotic hypnosis files? And all of those futa searches? You just want a hot sexy woman to pull out her cock and just rail you, don’t you?”   
Candace ran her hand up my thighs, beginning to press her fingers inside of me. As soon as I began to shake my head no I felt her dunk my entire head into the bathwater and aggressively yank my head back out by my hair. I gasped for air, feeling her rub shampoo into my hair. 

“You have very cute hair, Chloe, it’s a shame that I have to punish you for your outburst earlier.”

**_SNIP._ **

Candace had begun taking a pair of kitchen shears to my hair. My beautiful peach colored locks were all that I had left, I took such good care of them. “What are you doing?! Stop!!!”

Candace brought the scissors to my face, pointing them at me. “You’re already on your last chance, Chloe. If you hadn’t fought me earlier I wouldn’t need to do this. Now be careful, this tub is wet and slippery, and I’d hate to slip and cut something that doesn’t need cut. Now BEHAVE.”

She went back to my hair, forcing me to watch in horror as chunks of my hair fell into the water.

“Why do you even dye your hair anyways? You’re a natural redhead, Peach is just a brighter shade of orange~”

I could almost feel the tips of the blades as she pointed it towards my clit. 

“If you did have a cock, all I’d need to do is take my scissors and do a little snip right here, and you’d be neutered.”

I shake my head in fear, muttering silently through my lips, tears dripping into the bathwater. 

“I-I-Is it true…. What she said last night… You’re having me spayed?” Candace simply giggled and ran her fingers through my hair before she continued to mutilate it. “Like a dog, yes. I’m having you spayed… to help get it through to you that your body belongs to  **_me now._ ** ” She whispered seductively into my ear, cooing at me. I could feel how excited it was making her. “I can’t have you getting knocked up after all, that wouldn’t do… No one gets to breed you but  **ME~** ” She was practically moaning under her breath, I could tell that she wanted to take me right here and now, and I wanted that more than anything in the world. 

“Not yet… Not until you’re spayed… and dehumanized… not until you’ve earned it…” She finished mutilating my lock, leaving me with a mess of hair in place of my neatly groomed hairstyle from before. She shut the water off and drained the bathtub, drying my whole body by towel herself. 

“You’ve been a naughty girl today... But as a whole… you’ve done satisfactory work as my dog.”

I let out a sigh of relief, curling up in her lap as she dried my hair. “Tomorrow however, you’re going back to work as my maid, so we’d better get you into your cell~”

I sighed in disappointment, leaning into her chest, hearing her heartbeat pick up slightly. “Unless you want to go check out your doghouse~”

I jumped at the opportunity this time, following Candace back outside to the pool, letting her guide me to the little yellow doghouse. It felt about as cramped as my cell, despite having more space.  Candace forced me inside of it, the bottom floor was separated into two different dog sized rooms, one of which contained a pet bed sized for me to sleep in. There was also a second floor for me to crawl up to on a very small set of stairs, it was impossible to move around in here without crawling like a puppy. The second floor only had one room, and attached to it was a small little dog balcony, accessible by a hatch that was closed off to me. 

I crawled back down to the first floor and poked my head out of the door at Candace, who was smiling at my enthusiasm for the little playpen attached to the outside of the doghouse. She reached in and grabbed one of my ears, pinching it with her fingers. 

“I got you a little pet bed to sleep in!! All of this is for you, Chloe. My little  **_bitch._ ** ” She giggles, petting my freshly groomed hair. “What do you say when someone does something nice for you?”

I blush, looking her in the eyes and sighing. “Thank you Candace….”

She shook her head, pulling on my ear. “Call me  **Master** .”

“...Thank you Master~”

“Good girl~!”

Candace closes the door between us and smiles at me in the doghouse, locking me in for the night.

“Goodnight Chloe, Master will come get you in the morning.”

“Goodnight Master~” 


	5. Breeding Shock

I stared deeply into her eyes for a few anxious moments, my heart pounding out of my chest. 

For the first time, I found myself looking down on her from above, her eyes sparkling. A mixture of expressions washed over her face in that instant, as her fearful gaze turned bloodthirsty. 

Candace was bleeding, a red pool beginning to spread into the carpet beneath her back as she reached out and grabbed the blade of the bloodied knife from my quivering hand.

It had all started a few weeks prior, with the aftermath of inviting so many guests into the mansion. When Candace did eventually send me back to work, I found something I wasn’t supposed to find. Somebody had left a knife in the dishwasher. I hid it away as quickly as I could, amongst the clutter of cleaning supplies beneath the sink, somewhere I knew Candace wouldn’t look. 

I didn’t know yet when I was going to use it, but Candace had slipped up for the first time, and I wasn’t going to let this chance get away from me. So I hid it away for later, and I waited. 

Autumn was in full swing now, and it was the day before my surgery. Candace waited until the day before to spring it on me out of nowhere, like an oncoming car. She was going to spay me like an animal.

My hair was beginning to look cute again, having just grown back to chin length, with its natural orange shine. Candace had done a lot to me, she’d implanted things into my arms, mutilated my hair, branded my skin, but this was too far.

_I can’t let her do this to me._

**_You can’t do this to me._ **

“ ** _You can’t do this to me!_** ” I shrieked nervously, struggling to hold back a mental breakdown. “Please don’t do this to me Candace…”

She glared at me from across the dining room, her eyes like a pair of cerulean daggers digging into my soul. “I’m sorry, **who** are you speaking to like this?”

“Mistress please! Please listen to me!” I set the tray I had just picked up back onto the table, clutching the hem of my dress nervously. “I don’t want this… I don’t want you to have my tubes tied… If you do this I’ll _never_ be able to get pregnant… I’ll never get to have my own kids.”

“And who’s the lucky man or woman whose children you want to give birth to?” She pointed at me accusingly with her fork before lifting food into her mouth. 

“That’s not the point Cand-”

“Yes it **_is_** the point Chloe!!” She slammed her fork down into her lunch, the metal handle standing upright. “It’s to prove to you that you belong to ME. No one is allowed to get you pregnant but me, and that’s clearly not happening. You’d think someone who was orphaned as a child like yourself would think to adopt~”

“But… it’s my body… I should have the option to…”

“ ** _I_** can’t get pregnant either Chloe, so I don’t see what the big deal is.” She set both of her elbows on the table, interlocking her fingers and resting her chin on them as she grinned on me. “I get to do whatever I damn well please to you, and your body, so shut the fuck up and get back to work. NOW.” Her grin widened, a hungry look in her eyes. 

“Tonight is your last night to be bred, isn’t it?” She smirked eagerly, looking my body up and down. “You’ve convinced me.... If you want to be bred so badly, then I fucking will~”

There was never any arguing with her, when she wanted something, she got it.

My heart was twisted. Every time I look at her, every time she speaks to me, my heart flutters.

Why does my heart ache for her, what is she doing to me? 

I didn’t want this.

I picked the tray back up and marched my way back into the kitchen. I didn’t say anything, I didn’t want to risk her hearing me speak. I knew what I had to do next, and I had a pretty good hunch that whatever it was that she used to watch me on the cameras, she couldn’t do it from the dining room, she could only watch me on one of her screens. I silently set the dishes into the sink, and as I reached beneath it to grab the cleaning supplies, I made sure to silently slip the knife into my apron, taking a deep breath before returning to my work.

The next time she touches me, she dies. 

For the rest of the day I was terrified. Every time I saw her I was sure that she’d seen me, I was sure she knew what I was planning to do to her. But she didn’t. She never said anything, never looked at me funny, she never saw me with that knife. 

I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to kill her, but I knew that I could never leave this house unless she was dead. 

I knew that if I kept going, I’d fall in love with her. I would never be able to fight her. I would never be able to fight back. 

If I didn’t do something now, she’d turn me into her perfect submissive little toy. A loyal plaything who would fawn over her, someone who would listen to and obey her every word. Someone who would bend over for her, desperate for her attention, desperate for her love. 

A perfect submissive slave. **_Her_** perfect submissive slave.

That’s not who I am. That’s who I’m becoming. That’s who’s replacing me. 

I looked at my reflection in her fancy metal dishes as I polished them, seeing the tag on my ear, the rose gold metal tag with the name Chloe printed onto it. 

  
That’s not me. I’m not Chloe. 

Once I was done cleaning and polishing the decorations and ornaments in the foyer I was done for the night. My regular routine is the same every day. I wake up, make breakfast for the Mistress, then she feeds me, lets me use the restroom and shower, and then I get dressed. I wear the same thing every day, one of my pathetic looking maid uniforms, and diapers to keep myself from using any of the other bathrooms. Then I clean her room and her hallways, I feed her and her cats, and I clean one of seven other rooms in the house, which rotates throughout the week. Once I’m finished, I find busy work to do as I wait for Candace’s voice on the intercom demanding me to turn in for the night.   
I don’t want to be stuck doing this for the rest of my life.

I knelt outside her door as she opened it up, gesturing for me to come in for the night. Nervously making my way into her bedroom as normal, I waited for her to say something. 

“What do you think _cattle_ , would you still like to be bred?” She glared at me, directing me towards the closet door. “N-no Ma’am… I’d like to go to bed…” She smirked, unlocking the closet door and opening it for me. “That’s too bad. Go get undressed and bring that ass back in here.” I bit my lip nervously as I looked up at her looming over me. “Maybe you could help me undress~” I gave her a small shy smile, watching her close the closet door, gesturing me towards it and moving behind me. “I’d love to, face the closet and hold still okay?” Her voice was almost a bit sweet, she was clearly eager to help get my clothes off of me. I of course obliged, facing the closet door as she began to reach past my waist and untie the laces keeping my uniform on. 

This was it. Now or never. I spun around, my thumb resting on the bottom of the knife's handle, holding the weapon like a movie murderer, stabbing it into the side of her rather nicely shaped breasts, pushing her onto her back. 

We both froze, our eyes locked in fear of each other. All I could think to do was lean down and kiss her. Our lips locked for a few moments as we kissed, breathing heavily as it ended.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill Candace.

I love her. 

In that instant I froze above her, still holding the knife, posed like a beautiful perfect statue, tears beginning to roll down my cheeks. She had tears in her eyes too, still gazing up at me in fear.  
  
  


“I-I’m sorry… I… Candace...” 

As soon as the words left my mouth I watched her expression change. I gazed into her beautiful eyes, and for the first time ever I noticed that they were mismatched. Her left was as deep blue and beautiful as the ocean, but her right was like fire, a disfigured red iris in the place of any natural color, boiling with rage as she clenched her hand down on the knife in my hands, the metal digging into her skin. Her eyes were so beautiful.

In terror I leapt to my feet, running into the master bathroom and slamming the door shut, locking it behind me. What the fuck was I supposed to do now, it would only take her a few moments to get up and follow me, she was going to kill me for sure.

How could I do this? How could I be so stupid? How could I attack the girl I love?

Her bathroom was immaculate, with the toilet hidden away in the corner behind a screen, her sinks on the opposite wall across from her shower, a small knee height bench in the center of the room, and in one corner, sunk into the floor was a separate bathtub. 

The shelves were next to one of the doors, I shook my head, trying to get thoughts of her out of my head as I scavenged the bathroom for something to defend myself with. Candace must have taken a few moments to recover because by the time I heard her at the door to the bathroom, I had pretty much scoured the whole room. I jumped into the hallway, slamming the door behind me as I turned to the kitchen. 

I slammed the dishwasher open, not realizing that I had already emptied it in the heat of the moment as I’m chased. I cursed myself for being so good at my job, realizing that anything useful has been put away and locked to make sure I can’t get to it. 

“Damn it… no…”

She stepped out of the bathroom the same way I had come, she was no longer wearing her gorgeous baby blue nightgown. Instead she was bleeding out onto a strapless black pleather corset and wearing a matching pair of black lace boyshorts. She didn’t look happy. I could only think to run to the dining room as she approached me, my shock collar beeping louder and more frequently the closer I got to the sliding glass door. 

The Manor overlooked the beach to the west through the large glass sliding door in the dining room. On either side of the door were windows overlooking a pair of potted plants next to the china cabinets. I yanked on the door handle as hard as I could, adrenaline pumping through my veins, until suddenly the blinking light on my collar stayed on, sending a large electric shock through my body, knocking me to the cold stainless floor.

I struggled to breathe again, amazed that I hadn’t already been knocked unconscious, as I felt Candace’s fingers coiling around my hair, forcing me back to my feet once again. She groaned loudly, slamming me into the sliding glass door again, yanking me back and forth as she continually slammed my face into the unbreakable glass barrier. The red light on the collar blared loudly, automatically shocking me whenever she smashed me into the door.

Candace was much stronger than me, standing almost half a foot taller than me with perfect bubbly curves and toned muscles. She tossed me to the ground with ease, letting go of my head, landing me next to the china cabinet. I quickly kicked the potted plant over, scrambling to get back up, the door to the china cabinet opened, letting me reach in to start throwing the precious glassware at my assailant. I watched as a plate shattered over her head, much like the glass bottle on the night of the afterparty. I fled to the lounge, unable to watch the pain she was in, tears flooding out of my face.

I barely managed to crawl there, struggling to my feet once again. “You fucknose whore!!!! I swear to fucking God!!!” She shouted debasements at me from the archway, red bloodstains now prominent in her immaculate platinum blonde hair. “Get the fuck back here before I slit your throat!! I’m gonna gut you like a fucking pig!!!” She smirked menacingly at me as she saw me, towering over me even while I was standing up. I stood there in horror, barely able to breathe as I watched her approach me. She grabbed my hair in her dominant hand, wielding the blood soaked knife in her equally bloody hand, the one she cut on the blade as she disarmed me.

She held the knife up to my throat, forcing me to face her. “I thought you wanted me to breed you little piglet!! You should feel fucking honored that I even thought to let a freak like you anywhere close to my genitals, you pig-nosed dyke!!” I felt her press the blade into my neck for just a moment, listening to me whimper in terror before pulling back away. “Don’t think that I, **_Candace St. Clair_** , can live up to your expectations?! You don’t think I can compare to your sicko porn fantasies?! Fucking try me.”

She sliced through my uniform with ease, removing every piece of clothing from my body and kicking it aside. She dragged me screaming into the corner of the lounge before dropping me onto my knees, holding the dagger in her bloody hand, just in front of my face. The amount of anger with which she seethed was only matched by how much my fear I felt welling in my heart. “Listen closely and follow my orders like your worthless life depended on it, which it fucking does.” She flourished the knife in her hand, waiting for a verbal response from me. “I… I… Y… Yes Ma-Madame….” I whimpered, my voice shaking, I hadn’t been this afraid since the moment I woke up to find myself in her grasp for the very first time. “I’m going to screw you tonight whether you like it or not, but you just lost the privilege to enjoy it with me, good on you. Now you better lick this fucking knife clean before I get your blood all over it.”

Without hesitation, she pressed the sharp knife up to my lips, waiting for me to lick it clean. I reluctantly opened my still whimpering mouth, pressing my tongue to the blade and licking Candace’s blood from it. Once I had thought it was done, she simply took the knife into her other hand, holding her bloody palm to my mouth. “Now your going to lick my wounds clean, before I electrocute you to death.” I found myself unable to speak, opening my mouth and sucking her hand dry, cleaning the blood stains from it. As soon as she was satisfied, I watched her reel that hand back before slapping me across the face as hard as she could, following it up with an equally strong backhand.

“Don’t fucking move.” She reached her other hand to her bracelet, pressing her finger to the screen. What followed was a debilitating jolt of lightning making its way into my body from my arms and my neck, rendering me completely unable to operate my muscles, and briefly rendering me unconscious.

I was shortly awoken by Candace kicking me in the head, laying there collapsed on the ground. From the looks of it she had returned the knife to somewhere safely out of my reach, and in its place she had retrieved the soapy water filled mop bucket that I did my cleaning with, but curiously, it looked like the had left the mop behind. Most concerning of all however, was a black leather riding crop hanging from her waist, almost matching her corset.

“You thoroughly soaked that diaper you were still wearing from work, but still somehow had enough still in you to piss on my floor again just now, sit up and kneel, hands behind your back~” I looked at the ground beneath me, confirming what she said to be true, as I lied there once again in a puddle of my own piss. I could finally hear my collar beeping through the sound of my own heartbeat, realizing I was too close to the portrait of Candace and her mother, the most precious piece of artwork Candace kept in the house, right here in the lounge. Getting too close to it set my collar off just like the doors did. I do as I’m told, putting my wrists together behind my waist, she once again presses a button on her bracelet, smirking at me.

She seemed to be containing her rage for now, standing over me, sighing in exasperation. She walked to me again, grabbing me by the collar and dragging me screaming to the mop bucket. She slammed me face first into the mop bucket, holding me under the water for several moments, unable to breathe before yanking me back up and slamming me into the bucket again. I tried to fight back, but quickly found myself unable to pull my wrists apart without being shocked in the arms, forcing me to hold them together as she held me under the water once more.

I gasped for air, Candace gripping the sides of my head with both hands, sitting behind me as she pulled my backwards by my ear tag. “It’s your job to clean my fucking floors. ESPECIALLY when you fuck up and soil them. But I clearly can’t trust you to do them on your own, so I guess you’ll just have to be my mop.”

Candace then slammed my sopping wet body into the puddle on the floor, chest first, my tits doing most of the mopping as she drags me back and forth along the floor of the lounge. I feel my slippery body scrape across the floor as she drags me around, powerless to stop her. She pulls me back up to my knees, confident that the lounge was clean enough, kicking me over towards the heap of clothes in the corner. “Use those to dry my floors, and then we’ll move on to the next room.”

For a while now I’d been forced to wear diapers to work, getting to take them off or keep wearing them in my cell, which I’d been doing to keep my tiny room clean. Candace of course expected me to dispose of this one, forcing me to pick it up with my mouth and put it into the disposal bin on the mop bucket, before grabbing my uniform with my teeth and dragging it across the room to dry the floor.

“How does it feel to be a useless cleaning rag, slave?” Candace didn’t even crack a smile that time, not expecting me to respond while my mouth was in use, periodically stepping on me to impede my progress. Candace clearly needed to take a break, so she was using this opportunity to break me. 

“Have you lost your fight already? I knew you were stupid, weak, and pathetic, but I didn’t realize you were a coward too.” I let go of the rags, dropping them to the ground. “I… I couldn’t do it… I’m sorry…” I looked up at her, beginning to sob again, watching her approach me with a sponge and shove it into my mouth to silence me just before dunking me into the mop bucket again. “Get to cleaning.” I scowled angrily as I regained my breath, water dripping from my short orange hair. I might love Candace too much to kill her, but I still hadn’t lost my fight.

We moved on to the kitchen once the lounge was done, Candace watched over me as I began to dunk myself into the mop bucket. Cleaning the dirt from the collapsed potted plant was a nightmare, but it wasn’t as bad as once again cleaning broken glass from the china cabinet with my mouth.

I twitched nervously at every move she made, ready to leap to my feet and throw myself at whatever it takes to get out of this hell. Candace might be a sweetheart compared to the rest of her family and friends, but she’s still a manipulative kidnapping gaslighting narcissistic abuser. Candace is a psychopath, and I love her.

I know a lot about the layout of this house, but not everything. Candace keeps countless secrets from me, making it impossible for me to know what she’s capable of doing. She just stood over me as I slaved away cleaning **her** bloodstains off of **her** floors, punishing me for staining her beautiful lace nightgown, and damaging her perfect figure. She watched me with her bloodthirsty eyes, getting ready to rape me.

“C-can we t-talk about this, M-Miss?" I freeze in place, looking up at her on my knees. “You want to talk NOW?! You stash away a knife and stab your owner, and NOW you want to talk?! About what, your **feelings?!** ” She pulled her riding crop from her waist, holding it horizontally and curling the tip in her other hand. “Y-you wouldn’t listen t-to me… when I told you I didn’t want m-my tubes tied… I-I just…” I barely manage to get through my statement, quivering in fear at the riding crop in her hand.

She growled angrily, stepping forward and with a backhand motion, she swatted me in the side with the crop, leaving me reeling in pain. “Think with your empty fucking head for once!!! What in the world is wrong with you!!!!” Without hesitation she reeled her arm backwards and struck me again, flat against my breast. “I get what I want Chloe!! That’s how this works!! If I cared about what you wanted, you wouldn’t be here!!! You’re getting spayed whether you like it or not!!!”

I was crying loudly, tears streaming down my face, not sure whether I was crying in fear or in pain. “I- **_Please!!!_** ” She smirked, bringing the crop down as hard as she could across my face.

“ ** _No. No more of this, I’m tired of you._** ” Candace brought the crop down across my face once again, smiling at me eagerly. “ ** _I’m taking your body right here and RIGHT NOW. And I am NOT taking NO as an answer!!!!_** ” Candace whipped her foot around, striking me in the side of the head and knocking me onto the ground, climbing on top of my chest.

“Please… no… I’m sorry…”

She smacked me across the face, back and forth with both sides of her hand before gripping my neck in both hands. I struggled to breathe, unable to get her off of me, electricity flowing through my arms as I pulled them apart in an attempt to push her off of me. Candace smirked, watching me in torment, the life draining from my eyes as I suffocate.

Her beautiful, mismatched eyes were the last thing I see as I drift into unconsciousness.

“Chloe? Can you hear me?”

I woke up in my cell, dazed and confused, my wrists bound in shackles above my head. Sitting next to me was a man I didn’t recognize, trying to get my attention. But my attention was drawn passed the open cell door to my right, hearing Candace’s voice shouting.

“Thanks for finally doing your job, Malcolm.”

“What the fuck was I supposed to do? Tackle her to the ground?”

“You’re supposed to watch her!”

“Watch her do what?! Run away from you?! I activated the house alarm, made sure all of the exits were locked, called for medics and security, what else was I supposed to do in that situation?!”

“You’re supposed to watch her to prevent this from happening in the first place!!”

“I didn’t give her a fucking knife, Candace!! She’s a weasel! You should know better than anyone that she’s clever enough to avoid the cameras. This is **_your_** fault!!”

“How is this **_my_** fault?!”

“You let your libido get the better of you and allowed her to trick you into getting close! You **_have_** safeguards for this kind of thing, you’re supposed to keep your distance and keep her restrained, but that doesn’t work when you don’t use them properly.”

The man I now recognized as a medic spoke up, audibly annoyed by the argument happening between the two of them. “Hey!! Knock it off, she’s awake.” He turned back to me and smiled. “Are you okay sweetheart? Can you hear and see me alright?” He was examining me all over, trying to make sure that I was okay.

“She’s NO sweetheart.” It was Candace, walking over towards me and scoffing.

“I-I’m sorry Ma’am….” I stuttered nervously, beginning to choke up. Candace quickly shushed me, turning to the medic. “How does she look?”

“She’s got a concussion. But she’s not bleeding anywhere, inside or out, which is good, it’s still probably not a gonna idea to put her back to work though.”

“And what about the surgery?”

“We clearly can’t operate on her like this, Candace. It’s going to have to get pushed back-”

“For how long?” Candace was growing visually annoyed, crossing her arms in anger.

“Two weeks. Just to make sure she’s okay. We can’t do a tubal ligation if she’s…. you know…”

“She’s **not.** ” Candace scowled and shook her head, glaring at me.

“Well you better make sure she’s not!”

“I **am** sure.”

“Still… you’ll need to wait two weeks...”

“Alright…” Candace sighed, shaking her head. “Thank you for coming out here to help.”

“I’m only here because you’re Malcolm’s boss~”

“No. You’re here because I’m **your** boss.”

“No, I work for your father~”

“Whatever… Thanks for coming~”

The medic stood up and walked over to Malcolm, letting Candace take his place in front of me. “And **_where_** did you get the knife, Chloe.” I looked back up at her nervously, hoping she doesn’t hit me again. “A-after the party… S-someone left it in the dishwasher…” She scoffed and groaned with annoyance. “Leah… That makes sense…”

Malcolm spoke up “And you can’t really blame Leah, she was nice enough to fill in and do some of Chloe’s chores while you were busy parading her around the house like a dog… Just to make it up to you after she accidentally blabbed about the surgery~” Candace sighed, nodding her head to him silently. “Anyways, I’m gonna go back with Anthony tonight, see you in the morning?” She waved Malcolm and his boyfriend off, turning to face me again. “Don’t bother, I’m keeping her in her cell tomorrow anyways.”

Candace waited for the two boys to leave, before looking back down to me and smirking. “Good game, Chloe. But you lose this time.”

“I… I’m sorry Candace… I won’t do it again… I promise…”

“I believe you. Because you won’t have another opportunity like that again.”

“….Did you… have sex with me… while I was…”

“Yes. Yes I did. Too bad you weren’t there, you would have loved it~”

“…I’m sorry…”

“Good, you’ve learned your lesson then. That body is **_mine_** , not yours.” Candace leaned down and spat directly into my face before leaving the cell and slamming the heavy metal door shut behind her.

“Goodnight… Miss St. Clair…”

“…Goodnight Chloe.”


	6. Forfeit

The next two weeks passed by agonizingly slowly. After my confrontation with Candace ended in a serious beating, the surgery had to be postponed to make sure it was safe to go forward with the operation. Candace left me chained against the wall for a whole day, going in for a cosmetic surgery to fix up the damage I’d done to her chest in place of taking me to surgery. She left me in my cell for several days afterward, only feeding me and letting me relieve myself once per day. She did eventually send me back to work, forcing me to work with less supplies than what she normally gave me, even though she’d let the chores pile up while she wasn’t making me work. Worst of all, as additional punishment, Candace revoked custody of Poppy, my plush border collie.

Candace was having a new uniform made for me, after she destroyed my last one, and as a result I was made to work entirely naked. Unfortunately, this backfired on her when I eventually got my period, but Candace seemed to be so relieved that I’d gotten it that she didn’t punish me for getting blood onto her floors.

This also seemed to be the signal that Candace needed to let the clinic know that I was ready to go forward with the surgery.

I felt gross, like she’d violated me even further than she already had. Of course, Candace hardly cared about how I felt aside from making sure that I was mostly physically unharmed. I’d never seen Candace nude, so it didn’t hit me that I couldn’t necessarily rule out pregnancy as a possibility, I had no idea what she did to me after she knocked me out after all.

We resumed our usual routine, right up until the morning of the postponed surgery. She opened up the door to my cell, holding her hand out for me to take, dragging me through her bathroom and towards the kitchen.

“Breakfast for four today. Omelettes, potatoes, bacon, and sausage. I’ll take mine like normally, no peppers. Leah is lactose intolerant, so she eats like a pig, she’ll easily eat two, extra peppers, bacon, and sausage, but no cheese. Malcolm is a vegetarian, you can cook his on the same pan, just don’t add meat, he would like peppers, and he has requested you put the potatoes in the omelette, because he’s a heathen, make an extra this morning, I don’t care what’s on it, somebody will eat it so put whatever you want on it. Did you get all of that?”

I mumble through my muzzle, bowing my head in confirmation, I was extremely detail oriented, and even better at making notes in my head and micromanaging things than Candace was. It made sense for the two guests to be here, knowing that we’d be leaving for the clinic as soon as breakfast was over.

“Good.” Candace reached forward and grabbed the metal tag on my ear, pulling my face to hers. “Don’t fuck this up again. The last thing I want is to have to euthanize for disobeying me, but if I have to, I _will_ put you down. Is that understood?” I whimper quietly through my muzzle, my ear still being pulled, nodding nervously. “Good. Do better today, and maybe you can start regaining my trust.” She released my earlobe, letting me stumble backwards into the hallway again, bowing slightly as she closed the door.  
I heard chatter to my left, turning to head towards the kitchen, hearing an ongoing conversation between the two guests.

“It’s because my husband is an idiot and doesn’t know how to cook. He won’t admit it, but he thinks it’s my job~”  
“Because you’re a woman?”  
“Apparently!! But if he wanted a _housewife_ he should have said so before I got this job~” Leah looked awfully frazzled this morning, sitting next to Malcolm at the dining room table, two empty glasses of what was ice water placed in front of her. Right, I had forgotten, Leah’s an alcoholic, according to Candace, the girl drinks habitually almost as soon as she was done with work, and was miraculously immune to hangovers, never missing a day of work. Her and her husband, Ben, were putting in an effort to curb her addiction, though it wasn’t going so smoothly. More concerning was the fact that her job was basically to chauffer Candace around whenever she needed to go someplace. “Look, when you get married, you have to put your foot down on some things.” Leah mouthed to him, chewing on a piece of ice from the glass in her hand.

“With the amount of work we both do, I’m not sure that the two of us will be getting married.” Malcolm was dating Anthony Schmitt, the nurse to the family doctor who would be doing my tubal ligation later today. Between Malcolm working almost 24/7 as Candace’s assistant, and the hours his boyfriend works, the two of them had been having some issues.

As soon as she spotted me, Leah turned to face me. “Hey Chloe, you just waking up?” I of course couldn’t respond to her, Candace leaves my muzzle on to prevent me from eating food from the kitchen, so I just nodded to her, heading into the kitchen to get to work on breakfast.

I made the extra omelette special, filling it up with just about every ingredient I’d cooked. By the time I was finished with breakfast, Candace had finished getting cleaned up and dressed, joining her guests at the table, sitting across from Malcolm. I prepared the food and drinks for the three of them, taking it to the table and setting down the tray. Though happy about having two omelettes, Leah was less thrilled about receiving another ice water.

A mischievous grin showed up on Leah’s face, even more malicious than the ones Candace made, pulling a gun from her waist and pointing it directly at me, watching me back up towards the wall behind me, freezing up in fear. “Why don’t you go get me a bottle of wine instead, Chloe~”

“Can you please not harass the help?” Candace simply sighed and shook her head in annoyance. “Chloe, sit, her gun isn’t loaded.” Candace snapped her fingers and pointed to the empty space next to her on the floor across from Leah, having set a pair of dog bowls with the name ‘Chloe’ printed onto them, directly on the floor next to her, special just for me.

“Buzzkill…” Leah pouted softly, reaching out and taking the glass of ice water, setting the unloaded gun onto the table with a soft tap. “Have you ever had a gun pointed at you, Chloe?”

I begin to shake my head no, before Candace speaks up, answering for me. “She has. She just doesn’t know it.” She moved her index finger in a circle, signaling for me to turn around and face the other way, watching me intently as I do so. “Are you sure you’re not coming with us Mal? Chloe isn’t going to be here to monitor, you don’t have to stay here.” Candace began to reach down towards me, to my surprise, unlocking my muzzle and beginning to remove it.

“That’s exactly _why_ I’m staying here, my… workspace needs tidied up some, and I hardly ever get time to just relax in this house. Besides, I don’t really want to see Anthony right now…” Candace pulled my muzzle off and packed it into her purse as Malcolm chatted. “Another fight huh?” Malcolm paused for a moment before sighing. “Yeah…”

Leah cackled quietly for a moment. “At least you don’t fight as often as _these two~_ ” Leah replaced the gun onto her hip, glancing over at Candace and I. “Sorry about leaving a knife in the dishwasher… but in my defense, I didn’t realize how sneaky she was.” Candace rolled her eyes “It’s fine Leah.” She then returned to the table and grabbed the extra omelette I had made. “You really did just fill this with everything didn’t you?” Candace glared at me, expecting an answer.

I whined nervously, looking back up at her and nodding. “You… you said I could put anything on it… so I just used the rest of the ingredients… I’m sorry…” Candace smiled and sighed at me, lowering the plate towards the floor, and scraping the omelette into my empty food bowl. “For you~” she then reached down and gently rubbed the top of my head, turning back to her food. “Just don’t use your hands or I’ll have to take it away from you~”

I smiled happily, nodding my head eagerly. “Thank you, Candace…” She placed a bite of her own food into her mouth, turning to me and glaring at me. “Th-thank you Mistress…” I recoiled towards the ground, lowering my head. Candace let out a pleased sigh, reaching down and petting me on the head again to let me know that it’s okay, still chewing her food, not wanting to speak with her mouth full. 

I finished my food before Candace did, overly eager to eat a genuinely cooked meal for once, even if I did have to eat it from a dog bowl like an animal. The rest of the table didn’t seem to take much notice, continuing with breakfast at their own pace. Once she had finished, Candace turned to face me, watching me lap up water from the other dog bowl. She twirled a knife in her hand, running the blunt end over the skin of her other palm. Her hand had recovered from the incident a few weeks prior, now showing no sign of a cut. 

She waited for her guests to leave the room before pointing the knife at me, having me stand up and move back to my cell to get ready. I nervously made my way into the bathroom, showering and relieving myself before finally returning to the small stone room. 

Candace opened the door, a small black purse slung over her arm. “No fighting back this time. You’re getting spayed today whether you like it or not.”

I nervously nodded, forced to face away from her as she clasped my wrists into the shackles attached to the stone wall, my back to the Mistress. She unzipped the black leather purse, holding in her hands a deep red leather harness, slowly and gently beginning to place it onto me.

The harness clung tight to my skin, with straps around my breasts to accentuate them. The straps went over my shoulders, converging on my back. There were a set of three vertical straps attaching the breast pieces to the pieces on my waist, one of them straight down my spine. She slid a rather revealing set of panties up my legs and onto my crotch, strapping leather around my thighs and around my waist before connecting them together. Finally, she clasped a pair of cuffs around my ankles and wrists. They had small metal rings on them, allowing them to be clasped to different parts of my harness.

She detached me from the wall and turned me around, forcing me into the cold stone behind me as she slid a bright red ball gag into my mouth, reaching behind my head and securing it into place before locking it. 

Candace pressed herself against me, sliding one knee up between my legs and rubbing it against my labia, almost lifting me up off of the ground. 

“This is it. Finally, you’ll be all mine. Doesn’t that sound wonderful, Chloe~?” She leaned in, her face right in front of mine, breathing onto my gagged lips. All I could do was let out a hushed whimper, a sign of submission through my quivering pink lips. She reached her hand up to my face, rubbing my eyelashes between her fingers. “I think I’ll require you to wear makeup from now on~” She grinned, placing her palm onto my forehead and slamming my head back into the wall behind me. 

“I still haven’t forgiven you for what you did~” Her face turned stern, looking at me in disapproval, examining her hands to make sure she didn’t break any of her nails.  
Candace was always perpetually upset at me for something, even when she was pleased with what I was doing. If she wasn’t angry about some new transgression of me, she was instead angry about what happened that night. 

In just a few short hours we’d gone from a pair of potential friends, a pair of equals, to a pair of eternally opposed souls, a burning anger between us that could never be forgiven. She was cute too, I would have loved to get to know her better, to get to see her again, but in the span of just one night I became Candace St. Clair’s worst enemy. I would hesitate to even call what we have now a rivalry, with me on my knees, grovelling at her feet every night. 

This was her revenge

Candace expressly forbids me from mentioning that night again, she hates to be reminded of it when she doesn’t want to, and whenever it does pop back into her head, she makes sure to tell me that she’ll never forgive me for it. 

I want her to forgive me.

Candace curled her fingers around the back of the gag and forced me forward through the door, having unclasped me from the walls. There were a pair of rings on the straps just above my breasts that I found my wrists restrained to, it was secure, but uncomfortable. 

She directed me towards the foyer, stopping just before the door. My collar was blinking red, making a rather unpleasant beeping noise before Candace reached down to her bracelet, and in an instant, the light on the metal shock device turned blue, indicating that it was safe to take me outside. 

I’d never actually used this door before, only ever leaving on a few occasions into the yard, taking the door at the front of the mansion instead. Though not the front of the house, this door was clearly used as the main entrance, directly across from the garage. Candace forced me to my knees on the hard stone beneath me, unlocking the door to the garage before roughly yanking me to my bare feet and shoving me inside, letting out a pained squeak through my lips. 

It was huge inside, with at least six cars at one end, taking up less than a quarter of the total floor space, the rest of the garage was populated with miscellaneous different things, including a set of workout equipment, which must be how Candace keeps herself so strong and in shape. 

I stared in awe at the vehicles Candace kept in her garage, one of which was obviously Leah’s personal vehicle judging on how less pristine it was than the rest of the vehicles contained alongside it. 

Leah was standing beside one such car, waiting for the two of us to arrive. My jaw would have dropped at the sight of the car she was leaning against if I wasn’t gagged. 

It didn’t seem possible, but there it was. 

That was **_MY_ **car.

I stood there in shock for a few moments, only being pushed forward by Candace. The little yellow thing should be in smithereens, it was completely totalled last time I was in the car, and yet here was an almost identical vehicle, California license plate and all. 

Leah smirked, holding her hand out towards Candace. “If you’re so insistent on taking this one, then give me the keys~”

I watched Candace step forward, beginning to fish through her small black purse. Sure enough, she pulled out a familiar looking keychain, tossing them to her chauffeur. It really was my car after all.

Unable to open the doors to the back seats, I waited for Candace to do so for me, helping me inside and securing me onto a specially made set of restraints, like a child safety seat for slaves. 

Candace climbed into the passenger seat, looking back at me and grinning. “Feel free to look through the windows, as you can probably tell, I’ve had the windows tinted~”

I was unable to say anything back to her, tears beginning to form in the corners of my eyes, completely helpless, the restraints keeping me from trying to open the doors at all. “Poor little puppy… Mistress will take you out on a walk some other time, if you behave~” She cooed at me, her eyes seemingly sparkling, even despite the colored contacts she uses to hide her discolored left iris. 

“The girl can’t even respond, Ma’am, maybe we should leave her to admire the view?” It was Leah, seemingly adopting a more respectful and professional tone towards her boss.  
“Don’t fret about her, Mrs. Watts, she’s finally getting what she deserves, she should just be glad that I haven’t blindfolded her as well~” Candace smiled back towards me one last time. “Isn’t that right, my delicate little poppy?”

I nervously nod back to her, my body trembling in fear as we began to leave the garage. I hadn’t left the grounds in the many months since I was brought here, and I was scared to find out what lies outside of the walls I found myself trapped in. 

It wasn’t just a lake that could be seen from the mansions dining room window, it was an ocean, one that stretched as far as the eye could see towards the west. We passed very few cars as we drove along parallel to the beach, heading north towards the city. Candace does her best to make it as difficult for me to try and figure out where I am, in case I do ever escape from her. Despite this, whenever we did pass another car, I took notice of their license plates.

Florida.

Of course it was Florida, where else could she get away with this. Candace lived somewhere on the west beach, facing the Gulf of Mexico.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten my promise~” Candace was facing me, an expectant smile on her face. Barely managing to wipe a bit of drool from my bottom lip, my wrists shackled to the straps above my breasts, I glanced back at her, nervous and confused. Her eyes followed mine, looking towards the beach. “I promised to take you swimming someday, and I plan on keeping that promise~” She smiled happily, gazing at the beauty of the ocean, the sun's rays reflecting off of the surface. “Would you still like that, sweetie?” She turned back to me, the light of the sunrise now reflected in the blue of her eyes, deep as the ocean, and infinitely more beautiful. I simply nodded, a quiet whimper escaping from my lips as I gazed deeply into her eyes, a longing for her in my quickly beating heart, stronger than the pull of the ocean. For the rest of the trip I simply stared out the window, occasionally glancing toward Candace to see what she and her chauffeur were talking about. 

The first thing I noticed when we did get to the city was what looked like a college campus, one that the Mistress didn’t seem very fond of.

“God, I hate looking at that place.” Candace shook her head and sighed. 

“Bad memories?” Leah seemed to just be making simple conversation with her boss, while mostly focusing on driving. 

“My father _insisted_ that I earn myself a degree before he appointed me head of finances, but he wouldn’t permit me to live on campus, so it was just a lot of daily trips back and forth just to sit through four years of obnoxious lectures, all for a degree that I’ve never even used.”

“That sounds like Mr. Russo… What degree did you study anyways?”

“That’s the annoying part. You tell me how a Masters in Computer Science helps me with money laundering~”

“You’d know better than I would.” Leah pulled the car into a parking lot of an unlabelled facility, reaching into the glovebox to retrieve a clip of bullets, loading them into her handgun. “We’re here, boss.” 

“Finally… Get Chloe out of the car and inside as quick as you can manage, she’s a nuisance to pull around.”

Leah smirked and turned back to me, a mischievous grin on her face. “Can do~” She picked up the handgun and held the barrel to my forehead, her finger on the trigger. I quivered in fear, barely managing to keep myself from pissing onto the backseat of what was once my own car. “It’s loaded this time, so behave~”

Leah hopped out of the car and opened the backseat, releasing my hands from my breasts and shackling my wrist cuffs together in front of me, before releasing me from the seat I was bound to. “This is about the only time I’m gonna get to touch you, huh?” She grinned, pulling me out of the car by my arm and helping me to the ground.

I compliantly followed Candace into the building, her lavender dress swaying in the wind slightly, her chauffeur and bodyguard close behind me. 

Inside was as white and indistinguishable as the outside of the building. Waiting inside for us to arrive was the medic from that terrible night a few weeks ago, the nurse, Malcolm’s boyfriend. He smiled at us as we walked in, making his way over and giving Leah a hug before turning to Candace and I. “Rebecca is setting up in the OR now, where’s Malcolm?”

Leah actually spoke up before Candace had the chance to say anything. “He said he wanted some time to himself, are you two doing alright?” He just giggled and rolled his eyes at her. “It’s nothing, we’ll catch up after work, okay? In the _meantime…_ ” He turned to me, smiling sweetly, giving me a small wave with one hand as he held his clipboard in the other. “Hi Chloe! How are you feeling? Do you remember me?” He was a little shy and nervous, but genuine. Candace snapped her fingers at Leah before pointing to me, and before I had the chance to give him a nod back, Leah was unlocking and removing my gag. 

I paused for a few moments, stretching my jaw slightly, getting used to the feeling of not choking on a large rubber ball. “I… yeah… I do… I’m okay…” He simply smiled and nodded, writing something down on his bundle of paperwork. “You don’t have anything to worry about okay Chloe? Doctor Larkin was the nurse here when Candace was born, she’s gonna take great care of you~” Candace crossed her arms, blushing slightly. “She got her period after about a week~” Nurse Schmitt smiled and took note of that on his clipboard. “Good. That means we’re right on time to get this done today~!” 

He handed my Mistress his clipboard, having her begin to fill out the rest of the paperwork. “Unfortunately, we can’t take you back with us…” Candace nodded at him, filling in the packet at lightning speed before handing it back to him, pointing at the front page with her bright blue painted nails. “There’s her legal name, but please only call her Chloe, I’m trying to train her to respond to it~” Candace grinned at me, waiting for the clipboard to be taken back before examining her nails for chips again. “Gotcha. I’ll make sure the doctor knows, she’s not allergic to anything, right?” Candace giggled and nodded. “Cats and dust, but nothing medical~” The nurse chuckled and turned to me. “Sounds like a miserable life for an eternal housemaid, huh?”

I nervously looked over to Candace before nodding. “It’s… not fun… Especially all the dust…” She walked over to me, her sandals smacking against the hard floor as she walked. “It’s not supposed to be fun, you’re being **punished** , aren’t you, slave?” I swallowed nervously, nodding meekly. “Y-yes Madame…” Candace smiled, brushing my hair out of my face before gently kissing me on the forehead. “Good girl, now keep it up and behave while you’re back there~” I blushed awkwardly, finding myself lost in the ocean of her eyes once again. “P-promise…”

Satisfied, Candace sent me to the back with the nurse, leaving with Leah to attend to something else. I was nervous, knowing now that there truly was no escape. “I’m Anthony, by the way, your name’s **_Chloe_ ** , huh?” He obviously recognized who I was before all of this, and couldn’t help but poke fun at me for it. “Y-yes sir… Candace hates hearing my… birth name…” He nodded, turning us towards the operating room and having me step onto a scale. “Well… Just so you know… I’m a big fan~” He started taking my measurements, waiting for the scale to indicate that it was finished. “Th-thank you… I-I don’t have a lot of those… anymore…” I nervously looked down, fidgeting as I felt my bare feet on the cold metal scale. “Five foot six… A hundred and forty… Got it!” He quickly began writing my stats down onto his sheet. “We don’t have any records of you yet so I gotta do _everything_ , but I don’t mind… I think you have more fans than you really think you do, _Chloe_ ~” He had me step off of the scale and finally enter the OR, making me lay down on the operating table. There were a pair of security guards posted at either end of the room, looking over my naked body.

It was a few more minutes of awkward chatter between Anthony and one of the male guards before the doctor did finally arrive, making her way over to me, looking curiously at me before turning to the nurse. “I don’t remember this one… why don’t I recognize her…” She didn’t bother talking to me, reaching her hand out for the clipboard. “She’s never been in the facility before, Ma’am. Candace personally picked her out and had her delivered directly to her home.” The woman tilted her head curiously before glancing back at me, eyeing me up and down. “Candace’s personal bitch… Lucky girl… Where do I remember her from?” The nurse smirked, handing the clipboard to the doctor. “You must not follow Candace’s Esports career very closely. Number 0000, Miss St. Clair has insisted we call her Chloe, instead of what’s on the paper~”

Doctor Larkin seemed to be getting more and more confused by the second, glancing over the paperwork closely. “Then she should have just written Chloe, instead of-” Her eyes grew wide very quickly as she read it over again, a sudden look of realization coming over her face, looking me in the eyes for the first time. 

“So that’s where I recognize you from! Is Candace insane?! Does she realize what could happen if someone found out about her???” She practically shoved the clipboard back into her nurses hands, still shocked at what was happening. “Get her name changed in the system, just leave the last name blank…” She shook her head and sighed, looking down at me with a still confused expression on her face. “You poor girl… I’m so sorry… There’s no way you could have known…” 

She turned to Anthony as he stood up and walked to the doorway. “I thought she was dead?” Anthony shook his head, clutching the clipboard to his chest. “I did too until Malcolm told me…” Doctor Larkin shook her head and sighed one last time before finally sending him out of the room. “And get me her keys while you’re out, she needs to be naked~”

She shook her head and looked over my body one last time. “0000… They’ve been saving that number for an awfully long time… You must be something special to her…” I was almost crying at this point, on the very edge of no longer being able to hold in my tears as I was shown sympathy for the first time. “I-I-I-I don’t k-know… She d-doesn’t seem to like me a-all that much...” 

“I don’t know about that…” She frowned, waiting for the nurse to return with the keys to my harness, watching him remove it before shackling me onto the operating table. Dr. Larkin walked back over to me once I was fully restrained, a needle of liquid in her hand. “I won’t lie, this is going to sting, but probably not as badly as those brands stung… But this’ll put you out of commission for a while, and you’ll probably feel… emotional… when you wake up~” She smiled at me as she injected me with the shot. “I’m sorry Chloe… Things will get better soon, just hang in there~”

  
  


That was the last thing I remember happening before I passed out, waking up in an utterly confused panic. “No... Please!” I sat up as quickly as I could, my heart beating out of my chest, not really sure what I was talking about. “Shhhh… shh…. It’s okay, lay back down~” It was a feminine voice, one that I recognized, Candace. I felt a hand on my body gently pulling me back down, laying carefully. 

I was once again in the backseat of the car, we must have been on our way home. But this time I wasn’t strapped into both a carseat and a harness, I was still completely naked, and Candace was sitting back here with me. 

I finally began to take note of my surroundings, Candace had me lying down in the backseat, blushing as I realized that I was lying in her lap, my head on her bare thigh. “You’re safe I promise, I’m not gonna hurt you, according to the doctor, you were exceptionally well behaved, very unlike you~”

I looked up at her from her lap, my face as bright red as the single iris she hides behind her behind her blue colored contact lens. I so often got lost in those beautiful eyes of hers that I forgot that they were secretly mismatched, a little secret she hides from everyone. 

“Wh-why is one of your eyes red? they look like 3d glasses…” I quickly shot my hands over my mouth, shutting myself up as soon as I heard what I was saying. Candace was as taken off guard as I was, her cheeks pink with embarrassment, shocked that I would say such a thing as soon as I woke up. She blinked nervously, averting her eyes from me, not sure what to say. 

“You look pretty when you blush… Usually you look scary…” Again, we were both shocked by the words coming out of my mouth, whatever drug they put in me, it was making it really hard to filter my thoughts out, saying things that I would usually never let slip through my lips. 

“I-I’m sorry!! I think it looks really pretty and I want to see-” I flinched instinctively as I saw her palm approaching my face, shutting my eyes, but instead I was surprised to feel her soft, delicately manicured palm on my mouth, quietting me. 

“What in the world has gotten into you…” She seemed mildly annoyed, but for the most part she was simply still flustered. “I-If you must know, Chloe... I inherited albinism from my mother… That’s why I look the way I do.” She slowly lifted her hand from my face, letting me speak again. 

I smiled at her, my face blushing as bright as hers “Y-you’re eyes are pretty like the ocean… I… I can’t stop myself… M-mistress…” Candace giggled, beginning to ruffle my hair as I spoke, amused at my current situation.  
“I can see that~” She blushed and began removing the colored contact from her left eye, before looking down into my eyes. “What about now? Do I look scary again?” She smirked, rubbing my head as she awaited my response.

“Even prettier…” I tried my best to look away from her, sitting up and moving towards the window. 

“Prettier than the ocean, huh?” She began pulling me back into her lap, her fingers in my hair as she sets my head on her thigh again. “You’re from California aren’t you, that means you lived next to the ocean?”  
“San Francisco... but I never got to swim in it…” I frowned, looking up into her eyes again, tears beginning to well up from my tear duct. “My foster family never taught any of us how to swim… I had to teach myself... “

“Poor girl… I promise we’ll get to go swimming together, some day~” 

“But I don’t want to wait!! I want to swim in the ocean~!! I-I-I… I never got around to doing it, a-and then you kidnapped me!!” I began to feel tears sliding down my cheeks as I talked, beginning to sob. “N-now it’s too late…”

She sighed, rubbing my head gently. “It’s not too late… You have your whole life ahead of you~”

“You stole my life from me!!”

“ **And you love me for it!!!!** ” Candace quickly cut me off, shoving my head back into her lap as quickly as I was able to sit up. “One day you’ll be grateful for everything I’ve done for you… Even after what you did to me and my career~” 

“I said I’m sorry…” She placed her hand on my mouth again, silencing me for the rest of the ride home. “Save your breath… We’re almost home…”

I sobbed quietly in her lap, feeling her stroke my hair gently. When we did arrive home, she personally helped me stumble out of the car she stole from me, heading into the house together. I couldn’t stop myself from sobbing, still under the side effects of the drugs from before the surgery. 

She helped me into her bedroom, letting me down onto the floor as she began to put her things away, listening to me mumble and cry to myself. 

“I’m sorry...“

“Enough Chloe. I’ve heard it too many times, and I’m not in the mood to talk about it right now…”

“Y-you’re never in the mood to talk about it…” I wiped my tears from my face, looking up at her from on the floor. 

“Correct.” She hummed to herself as she leaned down next to me, holding out that little stuffed friend that she’d taken away from me. “You love Poppy right? She’ll help you feel better~”

I smiled, beginning to cry happily as I held her again, Candace had taken her away after I attacked her with a knife.

“You did a good job today. I’m proud of you~”

I squeezed my stuffed dog as hard as I could, holding her out and looking over her to make sure that she was really the same Poppy. My foster mom might not have ever taught me to swim, but she was nice enough to sew my name into the paw of my favorite toy. 

I was overjoyed to see that she really was my Poppy, my best friend growing up.

Right there, sewn onto Poppy’s left paw was my name~

Sophia

My heart ached as I read it, squeezing the stuffed dog as close as I could to my chest as I sobbed.

“Is something wrong, Chloe?” Candace turned to me again, a look of concern on her face. Though her voice usually delighted me, hearing her call me that name made my blood boil, my excitement and sadness quickly turning into anger.

“That’s **not** my name…”

Candace frowned at me, having removed her clothes and stripped into her sleeping wear. “Excuse me? What was that?”

“I said I was sorry… Why won’t you forgive me…” I looked up and her, scowling fiercely, all happiness drained from my face.

“I’m not in the mood **Chloe**.”

“That’s not my name and you fucking know it!!!” I quickly leapt to my feet, beginning to shout profanities at her. “You just don’t like calling me Sophia because it reminds you that you’re a **_fucking loser!!!_ ** ” I fumed angrily, unable to hold myself back from screaming at her. “Because you’re a bitter, jealous, self-centered, asshole!!! I won fair and square and **_you know it,_ **you’re just a sore loser~!!!”

Candace’s face quickly grew annoyed as she let out an exasperated sigh, scoffing at me. “You haven’t learned a thing…”

“Shut up!! I’m never going to be the way you want me to be, I’m always going to hate you!!! You kidnapped me and ruined my life, all because you lost!!” I continued to sob angrily.

“ **_I’M SORRY THAT I’M BETTER AT STARCRAFT THAN YOU!!!! I’M SORRY THAT I WON THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND YOU LOST!!!!! I’M SORRY THAT I WAS THE FIRST WOMAN TO EVER WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH, AND NOT YOU!!!!”_ **

I continued sobbing, collapsing to the ground again. “Everyone in the world thinks I’m dead… all of my fans think that **_Sophia Cavalier died in a car accident. BUT I’M RIGHT HERE!!!!_ ** All because you couldn’t just… forgive me... Why won’t you forgive me....” I hid my face from her, looking towards the ground.

“ **_If I knew all of this was going to happen… I would have forfeit…”_ **

I felt her sit down on the ground next to me, pulling my head into her chest as I cried. “It’s okay Chloe, let it all out… I know I’ve been hard on you…” Her words echoed in my brain as I buried my face into her nightgown, crying my eyes out. “It’s not about that anymore Chloe… It’s about so much more than that now… You’re so much more to me than some girl who beat me in Starcraft… You’re **mine** now… And I want you to always be mine~” 

She put her hands on my cheeks, pulling my head out from her chest, smiling at me. “I told you I was your biggest fan… and I always will be, Sophia…” I stared directly into her beautiful mismatched eyes as her angelic voice slipped through her lips. “But I need you to let her go, I need you to let Sophia die… and embrace being Chloe, my Chloe~” She smiled, tears glistening in the corners of her gorgeous eyes as she spoke. “Can you do that for me, Chloe?”

I bite down on my quivering lip, tears running down my cheeks as I bawled, nodding to her. “Candace… anything… anything for you… **_I promise_ **…”

I was quickly cut off, my horribly trembling voice silence by Candace as she leaned in, pressing her lips against mine, her soft delicate lips delivering the most blissful feeling to me as we kissed, her beautiful soft palms making their way behind my head, locking us into this embrace. My hands ended up on her hips, holding us in place as we kissed, tears streaming down our faces as we happily consummated. 

After several moments she pulled away, sighing happily, looking me in the eyes once again. 

She scooped Poppy up off of the ground, delivering her to my arms again, humming softly to me as she prepared to deliver me back to my cell.

“I forgive you Chloe, I promise~” 

“Thank you Candace… Thank you so much~”

↞✶↠ _**END OF ACT 1**_ ↞✶↠


	7. Damage Control

↞✶↠ _**ACT 2**_ ↞✶↠

_**The Perfect Match** _

_**Following her defeat at the hands of Sophia Cavalier resulting in her losing the world championship, Candace St. Clair wields the power given to her by her family to claim her former rival as her own. With the help of her new owner, Chloe must give up her identity as Sophia and seek to prove herself worthy of serving as her matron’s handmaiden. But old habits die hard, these girls have a bond like no other, and only one of them can win this game they play.** _

This was not at all how I expected to start my day. I found myself trapped inside of some sort of padded metal container. A pitch black box, hidden away from the light, unable to see my hands. It felt like I was coming to my senses for the first time in ages, having spent the last few days in and out of consciousness. 

The last thing I could remember was getting into a car accident, my life flashing before my eyes as my car spun out of control. 

Maybe I was blind, and that was why I couldn’t see anything, maybe this is what being blind felt like. Maybe I’d been deafened in the crash too, I thought I could hear people outside, but maybe they didn’t actually exist and that was why they couldn’t hear me. But I could hear myself, I could hear my own voice shouting for help. Being blind and deaf wouldn’t explain these walls either, I was sure that they were real, I could feel them. 

I’m trapped in an actual physical container, I could tell, there was no way I was imagining it, even if my brain did get scrambled by the crash. Those people I could hear outside must know I’m in here too, I can feel them moving me around, rotating and picking the box up from time to time, waking me from my slumber. I could only hope they know that I’m in here, there’s no telling where they might be taking me.

This must be a prank.

I curled up into a ball after what felt like an hour of endlessly kicking at the walls of the container I found myself in. “This had better be good…” I scoffed, wanting nothing more than to punch whoever put me in this box in the first place. 

After all, I’m Sophia Cavalier. I shouldn’t be getting treated like this. 

I should be in my apartment, safe and secure, playing Starcraft or blasting music loud enough to get my neighbors to complain. I loved my neighbors, even if they did go out of their way to complain about what I was doing, they were wonderful. 

I had always been a bit of a rebel. I grew up in a foster home after all, there isn’t much to be grateful for growing up knowing your parents were so abusive that they’d gotten you permanently taken away from them. I remembered my parents, but even they weren’t awful enough to stuff me into a box and never let me out. 

I had no idea how long I was going to be stuck in this thing, but for quite a few hours after I’d awoken, things felt unusually still. Things hadn’t been this quiet in days, I had finally been able to get some sleep for the first time since the accident. The hours felt like eternity from inside this box, but after a while, the box began to open. 

I was finally able to see my body as the setting sun started shining in, thankfully I was still in one piece. The doors to the grey metal container swung open slowly, letting me out of the box. It seemed to open on its own as well, there wasn’t a soul in sight, only the doors of what looked like a decadently adorned mansion.

Oh yeah, this had to be some kind of prank. 

I stood up, stretching my aching body, I was still wearing the same clothes that I remember putting on the day of the crash. A long sleeved flannel button up was tied around my waist, hanging over a pair of ripped jean shorts, my navel exposed under my pastel yellow crop top, a pair of rainbow trimmed high tops at my feet. Although, I didn’t have the small black backpack style purse that I usually kept my things in, which means I didn’t have my phone to call for help. 

I took a few steps towards the house, examining my reflection in the windows, usually I plastered over my freckles with concealer, but my makeup seemed to have washed off, including the black eyeliner that I normally never left my house without. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to fix it up, I took great care of my hair at all times, my curls were dyed peach because the pinkish tint was really all I could do to my hair without bleaching it, I refused to damage my delicate locks even slightly. 

I stepped back, taking a look at my surroundings, besides what I assumed was a garage behind me, I was seemingly surrounded by a large enclosure of hedges. I turned to face the door to the large house again, I must have been brought here for a reason. It seemed likely that whoever decided to bring me here was likely inside of that house. 

I took a long look towards the outer gates of the property, I could have bolted right then and there, but the sun was quickly setting, and I didn’t want to sleep in the streets again, I’d had enough of that when I tried running away from my foster home as a kid. Besides, it didn’t look too bad, maybe someone important just _really_ wanted to meet me. 

  
Of course this could also just be a huge prank, and if I was being pranked there was only one logical thing to do.

I rang the doorbell before immediately skipping back down the steps, running away towards the garage to wait for someone to answer. 

The door to the mansion quickly opened, but to my dismay, there was nobody at the door.  
“Well don’t be shy Sophia. I’ve been expecting you~”

It sounded like a voice on the intercom, a woman speaking to me, someone who knew my name. 

“I’m sorry, what?” I stepped out from around the corner, walking towards the door. “Do I know you? Where am I? Why am I here?”

I heard the woman giggle at me from the other side of the intercom, her voice sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “We can talk when you get inside. Don’t keep me waiting~”

“Don’t patronize me!!” I began to walk back towards the mansion, slowly stepping into the door. “You should know that crashing someone’s car and kidnapping them doesn’t make for a very funny prank. It just means you’re a selfish asshole with **_a lot_ ** of money to throw around.”

The door slammed shut behind me, pushing me the rest of the way into the house. I quickly turned around, trying to move the handle and open the door again, but it was locked, and nothing I could do managed to budge it. “Like I said, **a lot** **of money**. So you can open, close, and lock doors remotely, how _impressive._ ”

She didn’t respond to that one, either I had scared her off by badmouthing her or she just didn’t want to listen to me anymore, I chose to believe it was the former. 

Through the silence I heard another noise, music coming from the door to my left, it sounded just like the album I had left in my record player at home, which I liked to listen to on loop. This door was unlocked too, which aggravated me. Whoever she was she obviously knew who I was and what kinds of things I was into, but I wasn’t just gonna cave into whatever she said. I took a few good steps away from the locked door, backing myself into the wall across from it before slamming into the door with my shoulder.

It didn’t budge, instead I was sent reeling in pain onto the floor, rubbing my shoulder with the opposite hand. How in the world could her doors be so tough?

“Well don’t break anything. I’ve put quite a lot of time and money into this house after all~” Her voice really did sound familiar, but I couldn’t think of anyone I would know with this kind of money.

“ _Bite me~!!!_ ” I rose to my feet, practically growling at her in anger. I stormed off down the hallway, trying to clear my head, there was only one way to go from there after all. It led me to an intersection, off to the left was a longer hallway, in front of me looked like it led to some sort of parlor, and to my right was a single room. I turned towards the door on my right, opening it up and peeking inside of it. 

I jumped, backing away from the door as I watched a small black cat exit the room the instant I opened the way out of the room. I quickly slammed the door shut, watching the cat make its way towards the large parlor room. I hated cats with a passion. “Gross…” I turned around and made my way down the longer hallway, wanting to get away from the cat as quickly as possible. I was much more of a dog person, my foster mother even gifted me a small stuffed dog with my name on it as a gift after I’d tried to run away from home, she wanted me to know that she cared about me and wanted me to be safe. Ever since then, just holding that stuffed animal was the quickest way to cheer me up and make me feel safe. I wanted to squeeze that dog more than anything else in the world right now. 

I gripped the handle to the next room tightly. “Please don’t be more cats…” I swung the door open, walking into what I realized was a bathroom. It only began to occur to me just then that I hadn’t eaten in several days, that must be why I didn’t even feel the need to relieve myself after getting out of my container. From the other side of the wall I heard more music, but not metal music this time, video game music. Sounded like someone was playing starcraft. 

I smirked, making my way out of the bathroom and towards the next room, I won the Starcraft II world championship, and I was extremely proud of it. I had defeated the famous Candace St. Clair in the world championship finals just a few months prior. I remember playing that game day in and day out growing up in the group home, it was one of the few things I had that helped me cope with the numerous other children I had to share a bedroom with. 

I didn’t get along with the other girls very well, for some reason they just didn’t like me very much. My foster parents eventually had to give up and make me sleep in one of the boys bedrooms, thinking I would get so sick of the boys that I’d beg the other girls to let me back in, but that never happened. For some reason I got along with the boys a lot better, sitting in my top bunk, only ever getting down to go to school and play video games with my roommates. In retrospect, I should never have been allowed to sleep in the same bedroom with other girls as a teenager, knowing how I turned out. One of my crowning achievements as a child was when the boys in my room got caught looking at a magazine full of naked women, and I convinced my foster mother to let me keep it. I spent hours and hours staying up at night masturbating to those kinds of pictures while the boys in the room were asleep. 

I scoffed at my painfully tacky rainbow high tops as I walked into the large gaming room, I had grown up to be a proud lesbian, awful fashion sense and all. I looked up from my shoes, my jaw dropping in awe as I saw what was inside. Multiple monitors, high tech speakers, leather couches, and a large lcd screen that stretched almost across the entire wall. To say I was amazed would have been an understatement, this was my dream gaming set up as a child. “Where have you been all of my life?” My gaze finally rose to the large lcd display, realizing what I was hearing. No one was actually playing starcraft, it was me. On the large lcd display on the far wall was a replay of me playing starcraft, a video of me from one of my very few streams. I stomped my way into the room, digging around in the couch cushions for the remote, thinking it was the most obvious place to find it, picking it up from under the pillows and turning the large screen off. 

“So you’re a creepy weirdo superfan, is that it?” I tossed the remote back onto the couch cushion before getting up and heading back out the door into the hallway. As soon as I reached the door however, I heard the music playing again. She turned the monitor back on. I stormed back into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind me. “Will you please cut it out with the creepy haunted house bullshit?”

I was trying my best not to show it, but I really was scared out of my mind. First they take advantage of my car accident and have me sent across the country to their doorstep, then they trap me inside of their mansion, and now they’re playing mind games on me to freak me out. This was beyond messed up, if this really was a prank, it had gone too far. I hated to think what was going to happen if this wasn’t a prank after all. I was powerless in this situation, all I could do to fight back was to do what I always do, be a brat. 

I shook my head and angrily stormed off, continuing down the hallway. I came to the end of the hallway, the only way to continue from here was to turn right and head through this woman’s dining room. This open area at the end of the hallway seemed to be some sort of lounge, but instead of decorating it with furniture and entertainment, it seemed to be adorned with all sorts of valuable paintings, carvings, and decoration. It was a place to display art. I wasn’t a mean person, but if she was going to play childish games on me, then I was gonna play a few games of my own. 

I paid very little attention to the pictures on the wall, they looked valuable but they weren’t as satisfying to destroy. Instead I turned my attention to one of the marble pedestals, the kind that you’d find in a museum holding some manner of priceless artifact, and I picked up the ornately carved figurine that was sitting on top of it. This thing looks like it would sell for a fortune, it’s too bad that it’s owner was a bitch.

**_SMASH!!!_ **

I held it above my head with both of my hands before hurling it towards the ground as hard and as fast as I could. I felt childish to do something so blatantly rebellious, but it was all I could think to do in this situation, and it felt kind of cathartic to destroy someone’s valuables after I’d been explicitly told not to. She deserved it.

No response. Surely she must have watched me do that, she should have at least heard the sound of things shattering from somewhere else inside of her own house, she couldn’t just ignore it. Her silence just aggravated me, I felt like I was making a fool of myself for no reason, and that she was sitting back and laughing at me acting like a child. I put all of my weight into knocking the marble pedestal over onto the shattered remnants of the small statue, putting one foot on the side of the pillar and pushing down on it, watching it tumble to the floor before I stomped off into the dining room. 

I could see the sun setting through the dining room window, into the ocean below. Suddenly things felt darker than they ever had before. I had gone a long way and achieved a lot, but I felt so lonely. Even if I had my phone with me right now, I wouldn’t even know who to call for help. My only real friend was my manager and ex-boyfriend, Justin. I didn’t have parents or siblings to call, my foster family didn’t stay in contact with me. I was the starcraft world champion, I had thousands of fans, but I couldn’t even name a single one of them, and there was no way of reaching them from here. The only people I could think to call were the police, and even if I did call them I had no idea where I was and why, I didn’t even know what was happening. 

I picked up one of the chairs tucked away under the dining table, wielding it with both hands and swinging it at the glass, watching the wooden seat just bounce off of the bulletproof surface and fall onto the floor. 

I curled up in front of the sliding glass door, a little ball on the floor watching the quickly fading sunset. It was getting dark. I wanted to get through this door just so that I could dive headfirst into that beautiful blue ocean. I wanted to escape, not just from this house, but from everything, to get away from this life and start something new, a life that wasn’t quite so lonely. 

I stood up and walked towards the other end of the dining room, flipping the lightswitch upward, but nothing happened. She was keeping me trapped in this house with the lights off, just as pitch black as the container I’d arrived in, and even worse, she was ignoring me. 

I entered her kitchen, walking over to her fridge. I began to start digging out whatever food I could find and shovel them into my mouth, less out of rebellion than just out of sheer hunger. It had been days since I’d eaten anything at all, and the fatigue was beginning to get to me. I made sure to fill up a glass of water to go with my makeshift meal, chugging it down as quickly as I could before smashing it onto the kitchen floor out of anger. 

As stupid as it might have been to blindly shatter glass onto the floor of a room that’s so dark you can’t see in, I managed to avoid the broken shards of glass as I walked out of the kitchen and into another hallway. The whole house was pitch black, with one exception, there was light shining from the crack under one of the doors to my left. I pushed on the handle, opening the door to be greeted by yet another bathroom, but this one was much bigger. 

I left the door into the bathroom open, but I wasn’t an idiot, expecting it to swing closed as soon as I stepped inside of it. She was trying to trick me into going into that bathroom for some reason, and even though I was beginning to feel the need to relieve myself after the small meal I had just eaten, there was absolutely no way I was going to do it in that room. I instead backed up and turned to face another door down the hallway a ways, letting the light from the bathroom illuminate the hall. This one looked like it was supposed to be used as another bedroom, but instead the walls and floors were lined with racks of clothes, like a gigantic closet the size of a bedroom, and across the hallway from it was another room with its lights on, but unlike the other room, this door did not open. 

It sounded like there was someone in there. 

Disregarding the room full of clothes, there was only one other room left to explore, the parlor, just down the hallway from where I was, completing my loop around the house, but that little monster was probably still in there. I carefully stepped into the large gathering room, luckily for me the room was partially illuminated by the light of the night sky shining in through the large sliding glass door at the end of the room, and I couldn’t sit the oversized rodent anywhere.

The parlor, though not the main entrance, opened up into the front of the building, into the massive sprawling garden outside, opposite the ocean behind it, the sunrise was sure to shine in this room. I almost shrieked as I saw a small shadow dart it’s way across the room, and a moment later I heard a quiet scratching sound at one of the doors, that must be that horrible cat that I had met earlier, I didn’t like to admit it, but I was quite scared of those little nuisances.

My nervous heart quickly beating out of my chest, I slowly walked over to investigate the noise, tiptoeing down the hallway. I felt a small bump underneath one of my feet as I took a step towards it, hearing it hiss loudly at me, moving out from under my shoe, causing me to fall flat on my ass onto the floor below. 

I squirmed away from the monstrous creature, scurrying down the hallway towards the gaming room, hurrying to open up the door to the bathroom as I felt my pants begin to grow wet, pissing myself out of fear. To my dismay, even though the door had opened before, I could no longer get it to budge, leaving me to bang on the door in frustration as a small puddle began to appear in my shorts. 

Part of the reason the other girls at the foster home didn’t like me was because I was a bedwetter, we never got along because they always made fun of me and teased me about not being able to control my bladder, always making me feel bad. 

I growled loudly, falling to the floor in humiliation. This woman surely had some sort of night vision cameras that she was using to spy on me, and she undoubtedly just watched me soil my pants like an untrained toddler. Towards the other end of the hall however, I heard that scratching noise again, accompanied by a loud purring sound. It was that stupid cat, clawing at something, asking for my attention. 

I stood up again, walking towards it, making sure it didn’t get away. It was scratching its claws on the door to the room I had found it in. I must have accidentally trapped it outside of its own bedroom when we first met earlier. I sighed loudly, reaching for the handle and opening the door to let it back in. Listening for it as it made its way inside, closing the door behind it and heading back into the rest of the house, walking directly towards the wardrobe room.

I stomped over to one of the clothes racks, realizing how filthy my shorts felt against my skin, piss dripping onto the floor as I walked. Wishing to feel even a semblance of cleanliness, I started stripping my clothes off, replacing my own outfit with a simple looking short sleeved white button up and a pair of black capris, curling my own clothes up into a bundle and carrying them with me. I was obsessed with my own cleanliness, unable to stand being wet and gross even if it meant borrowing clothes from my kidnapper. It was the only way to escape my own filth. 

All of a sudden I heard a door slam closed from the hallway, the light that was already barely illuminating the room going out completely, leaving me in total darkness. I rushed myself back into the hallway, walking back to the bathroom and turning the handle again, the door opened like it had before, but this time as soon as I turned to walk away it slammed shut again. 

Not wanting to make an even bigger fool of myself fumbling around in the dark for the rest of the night, I relented, opening the door and letting it shut behind me as I entered. I wasn’t going to be getting out of here until I eventually caved into my captor’s demands, I just didn’t know what she wanted yet. Not wanting to make a mess of myself again, I came inside and relieved myself, cleaning up in the process. As expected, the door back into the hallway was locked and unmoving, leaving only two other doors out of this room. 

I could see light shining from one of the other two doors, that door must lead to the same place as the other door in the hallway with its lights on. I made my way over to it and tried the handle, -only to find that this one too was locked. The further of the two doors on the other hand, was unlocked, opening up into what seemed to be a real walk-in closet, although smaller than the bedroom full of clothes, it was closer in size to a small sitting room than a closet. It also had a single light on, making it possible to step inside without worrying about stepping on another cat. 

The room was totally inconspicuous, aside from noting that I was getting deeper and deeper into the house, there was nothing suspicious about this room. 

The only door that I could see from this room aside from the one that I just came in through was the door into the closet from what I assumed was the bedroom it was attached to. This was likely the master bedroom, complete with a closet room and master bathroom attached to each other in a small three room loop. 

I curled my fingers around the doorknob, taking a deep breath. I had no idea who was going to be waiting for me inside of this room, and I was terrified of what was going to happen when they finally saw me. 

The door opened with a click, finally letting me inside of the master bedroom. I stepped inside and looked around, this place was huge, even bigger than the parlor at the front end of the house. There was a king sized bed in the corner, its sheets all messy. A glass table near the center of the room, with a set of white leather couches surrounding it. Against the wall was another gargantuan lcd display, over a hundred inches wide. In another corner was a large desk with another three screens, monitors for the two computers on the floor beneath them, both gaming pcs, and alongside them was every console you could imagine, current generation or otherwise. There was a massive vanity, gorgeous, elegant, and beautiful. There looked to be a large metal hatch in the wall beside the closet door, and next to that was a large black chest with a lock on it. But there was one thing that this room was missing.

There was no person inside. 

I shook my head in disbelief, looking around the room once again to make sure they weren’t just hiding from me. Unless they were hiding in the locked bedroom by the foyer, there wasn’t anywhere else they could have been.

“H-hello? ...Are you not in here?”

“I was beginning to wonder when you were finally going to get here.”

It was the same woman, but this time instead of being broadcasted through the intercom, it was coming from behind me. It sounded different hearing it in person, I could tell it was the same voice that was speaking to me over the intercom, but hearing her in the same room as me, I finally recognized who it was. I know that voice. 

“What in the world took you so long?”

Candace St. Clair. 

The Mary Sue of the entire Esports profession, the poster child for female gamers. 

She was standing just inside the doorway I had just walked through, standing inside the closet and staring at me with her usual smile. It baffled me how I could have gone through the small room without noticing her in the closet with me, but I didn’t really stop to give it much thought, maybe that hatch on the wall next to the door actually did open up and lead to a hidden room only accessible through the closet. 

It had been so long since I’d laid my eyes on her, the last time we had met in person was during the world championship match, in the first week of November, almost six months ago now. Candace was always a joy to be around, she was such a sweetheart, someone who couldn’t hurt a fly. I was so happy to see her, my heart swelling with relief after everything I’d just been put through. It felt so good to see someone I knew, my worries fading away in an instant. 

I ran to her, dropping my bundle of clothes onto the floor and wrapping my hands around her in a hug, my arms draped over her shoulder, squeezing her as tight as I could, my face flushed with a mixture of relief, embarrassment, and excitement. She stumbled backwards in surprise, not bothering to return the hug.

“I was afraid that someone was trying to hurt me…” I smiled and slowly let go of my tight grasp on her, stepping back a few steps to give her a friendly smile. 

“And how do you know that you’re not still in danger?” The girl smirked, raising her eyebrow at me and stepping forward slightly. “What makes you think that _I_ won’t hurt you? You don’t think I have it in me?”

“You wouldn’t~” I giggled slightly and shook my head at her, a happy smile painted across my face. “If I knew this was your house I wouldn’t have broken anything~”

My eager grin was extremely short lived however, as I watched her reel her arm back and curl her fingers into a fist before swinging her arm forward and pounding me in the face.

I was sent reeling to the ground, my hands gripping at my left eye, her punch catching me totally off guard. 

“What about now? Still don’t think I have what it takes to hurt you?” 

“What the fuck Candace?!?!” I quickly rose to my feet, glaring at her angrily. “What was that for?!” 

“Don’t act like we’re friends **Cavalier** . I’m not here to _save you._ ” She began caressing her fist with her other hand, stretching her fingers and popping her knuckles. 

“Then why the fuck are you here then?!” I took my hands off of my eye, looking directly into her soul.

“This is **my** house, Sophia… Who do you think had you sent here in the first place~” She grinned menacingly, sending daggers directly back at me with her eyes.

“Why would you have me brought to your house? In a box?!” I slowly backed away from her moving towards the door that led to the hallway. 

“You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you can figure it out~” She was giving me a look that I’d never seen before, an angry and terrifying gaze staring directly at me. 

“Don’t tell me you’re upset about the championship?! You can’t be serious…” I backed into the door, reaching for the handle. 

“There you go… You have a brain in there after all~!!” She giggled to herself, watching me struggle with the door.

“O-okay fine!! You’ve made your point. You’ve had your fun… Please let me go home now…” The handle wouldn’t turn, the door wasn’t opening. 

“For someone as rebellious as you I expected you to strike back~” She shook her head at me, getting ready to attack again, a smug grin on her face.

“I don’t want to hurt you… This is insane…” I let go of the handle, getting ready to defend myself from her.

“That’s a shame… Because I **_really_ **want to hurt you~” She swung her fist at me again, only barely giving me enough time to block her punch with my arm. 

I stepped away from the door, reluctantly swinging at her with my other hand, watching her quickly duck to the ground, going under my arm. She dug her fist into my stomach, twisting her hand and grasping at my clothes, quickly swinging me around her and shoving me away from the door and back into the room. 

“Are those my clothes, Cavalier?” She confidently walked towards me, watching me back away from her, unable to keep herself from giggling. “I guess I’ll need to strip you naked too~”

I watched as she darted towards me, barely able to follow her as she quickly ducks behind me, grabbing me from behind with both arms and restraining me. I growled angrily at her, trying to thrash at her, walking backwards to try and pin her into the wall behind me. 

She scoffed, placing one foot on the back of my leg and bending my leg, forcing me to my knees. She pulled her arms out from under mine, dropping me to the ground, her foot still on the back of my calf as she placed her other foot between my shoulderblades, pushing me onto my hands and knees.

“What a pity… I expected more of a fight~” I could hear the smug grin in her voice even without looking at her, huffing angrily as I struggled to catch my breath.

“You’re heavier than you look…” 

She chuckled slightly, taking her foot off my leg and stepping onto the back of my head, slamming my face into the ground, her other foot still firmly planted on my back. “Thanks, it’s all muscle mass~”

I winced in pain, begging her to get off of me. “Alright, you win!!! I’m SORRY!!! I’m sorry for beating you at Starcraft… Please...”

Seemingly satisfied with my apology, she stepped off of me and back onto the floor of her bedroom, standing in front of me and staring down at me, cowering on all fours in front of her. “Say it again, if you’d please~” She leaned over me, proud of herself for beating me into submission. 

I swallowed my pride and looked up at her, still catching my breath as I spoke. “I’m sorry for beating you…”

She smiled happily, delighting in watching my pain. “Say it again. but this time… address it to your **_Mistress~_ **”

“No fucking way!!! _Absolutely fucking not!!!_ ” I scoffed angrily, wanting to spit directly into her perfectly beautiful little face. 

She sighed in disappointment, watching me flinch as she picked her foot up off the ground and sent it soaring into the side of my head, kicking me in the face and sending me slamming into the floor.

I whined nervously, rising to my hands and knees again and looking up at her, my cheeks red with both humiliation and anger. “I… I’m sorry for beating you… Mistress…” 

She smiled proudly, giving me a small round of applause for doing as I was told. “Much better…”

I rose to my knees, still dizzy from the quick kick to the head that Candace had given me. “...Are we even now?”

“Oh absolutely not~!!! Just because you’ve apologized doesn’t mean I’ve _forgiven you_ ...” She leaned down, her face getting dangerously close to mine as she smiled at me, gazing deep into my soul with her beautiful blue eyes, as deep as the ocean. “From now on **_I_ **will be doing the beating~” 

“...From now on?” I looked up at her nervously, my voice quivering.

“You have a new life ahead of you to look forward to… Sophia Cavalier.” Her face lit up with excitement, quickly gazing across the room to the small metal hatch built into the wall, making sure to let it sink in. 

“No…”

“Yes~”

“ **_NO!!!!!_ **” 

I quickly got up from my knees, wanting to get away from her as quick as I could, but before I could even take a single step I felt Candace press a small black device into my chest, sending a wild and dangerous burst of electricity through my body, collapsing to the floor in pain. 

She rolled me onto my back with her foot, kneeling down and leaning over me, slowly unbuttoning the shirt I was wearing, methodically removing every article of clothing I was wearing. 

“What a gorgeous little body you possess…” She smirked at me, looking me in the eyes as she spoke. “Or should I say… What a gorgeous little body **_I_ **possess~” 

I winced in pain as she gracefully lifted me into her arms, carrying my naked body into her closet with ease. My eyes grew wide with horror as I saw it, a small stone cell, exactly on the other side of where the hatch would lead, the large secret door now wide open.

She walked me inside, gently setting me down on the cold floor of my new home, my cage. “What are you going to do to me…”

“You’ll find out… soon enough…” She backed out of the cell, leaving me in the cell by myself, closing the door behind her.

I struggled to sit up, still recovering from my electrocution, leaning against the door and pressing my forehead against the barrier between us. “I hate you…”

Candace's voice penetrated through the door, humming to herself. “I hate you more~”


	8. Maiden Name

I didn’t sleep that night. 

The floor of my prison was stone cold and hard, cramped, and uncomfortable. The fear of what Candace had planned for me kept me up for hours and hours in constant paranoia, waiting for someone to come and open this door.  
I leaned against the door, tapping my fingernails impatiently, the sounds of them tapping against the hard steel were the only sounds I could hear in my empty cell. I trembled, the feeling of the cold metal surface on the skin of my completely naked body sending shivers down my spine. I was totally powerless, unable to escape my empty stone cage, completely and utterly cut off from the world outside. 

Unsure of the exact time, I tapped on the cold steel door, hoping to reach somebody on the other side. “...Candace? Are you there? ...Can we please talk about this?” I paused, waiting and hoping for a response that never came. “I know you’re angry and disappointed, but I won fair and square!!” I pounded on the door impatiently, only stopping once my hand was red with pain. “I’m not sorry…” I huffed angrily, enraged that I’d been forced to apologize to her for an accomplishment I was so proud of. I won the world championship, and I didn’t feel bad about it. “I hate you so much…”

“You’ve said that already, and I repeat, I hate you more.” I turned around as I heard her voice on the intercom again, playing in my cell. “My answer hasn’t really changed since last night~”

“Candace please!!!” I scanned the room, looking for some sign of where the speaker might be hidden. “I’m tired and I’m hungry and I’m in a lot of pain. Please let me out…”  
“Well maybe if you behave, I’ll actually feed you~” She giggled to herself through the speaker, taunting me. “You’ve always had an ugly pig face, but you look like a zombie with those bags under your eyes~”

“Uh huh, sure, just last night you were drooling over how gorgeous I am.”

The sound of her scoffing at me from the other side of the microphone made me smile. “Don’t get snarky with me, Sophia.”

“You fucking started it!!”

“ **I’m** allowed to do whatever I want because **I’m** above you~!!” 

“No you’re fucking not!! You’re a psycho lunatic asshole who throws pissy fits whenever you don’t get your way. If anything, **I’m above you**.”

“So you’ve still got some fight left in you after all… I’m impressed, most girls would be curled up in a ball crying their eyes out by now~”

“Unfortunately for you, I’m not like most girls~”

Candace giggled to herself for a few moments before responding. “Not yet you aren’t, but you’ll get there eventually~”

“If you think I’m gonna just fold and give in to your demands, you’re dead wrong. You’ll never get away with this~”

I waited a few moments for her response before I heard the sound of clicking coming from the wall between my cell and her bedroom, the small metal hatch was opening for the first time. 

The panels slid open individually, creating an opening large enough to reach through, but not big enough for a whole person to squeeze through unless all of the panels were opened at once. Candace spoke to me from the other side of the hatch, sliding a bundle of clothes to me in my cell. “I’ll give you this one chance to behave~” 

I took the bundle of clothes from her, quickly slipping on the pair of white undergarments and matching bra, looking it over and blushing bright pink as I slowly realized what it was. “No… You’re kidding… This is a joke, and you’re just fucking with me.”  
Candace slowly opened a second panel on the hatch, creating an opening big enough for her to comfortably peer through. “And what makes you think that?”

I grimaced, scoffing at her and holding it out for her to see. “A french maid uniform, seriously?” 

She giggled at me, a smug grin on her face. “Seriously.”

“You realize they didn’t even wear these stupid things, right?”

“But _you_ will~”

I snarled at her, reaching through the hatch with one arm and grabbing a hold of the collar of her nightgown, curling my fist around it and pulling her towards me by her chest. “If you want someone to keep your stupid haunted house tidy, you’ll just have to hire a real one, because I am **NOT** going to be your fucking maid!!!”

Candace squirmed in annoyance for a few short seconds before sighing to herself, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. “Is that what you think~?” She brought her left hand to her collar, a light on her fancy bracelet blinking slowly as she wrapped her fingers around my wrist and squeezed tightly. In just a moment I was letting go of her nightgown, my fingers aching with pain as she continued to squeeze my wrist, forcing me to release her. 

“Oh look, I can do that too! See?” With one arm, she pulled me by my wrist towards her, slamming my body into the wall between us. I recoiled as she reached through the hatch with her other hand, grabbing onto my neck and choking me, letting go of my hand and squeezing my throat. I tried as hard as I could to pull myself away from the wall, both of my hands grasping at her arm, trying to pry her off of me so that I could breathe. I pressed both of my feet against the wall, pushing away from her as hard as I could, just barely managing to break free of her iron grip, forcefully slamming my back into the wall behind me as I sat to catch my breath. 

“So, do you want to run that past me again, Miss Cavalier?” She glared at me angrily through the hatch between us, and I glared right back at her. 

“Bite me, you bitch.” I made sure to keep eye contact with her, picking up the dress she had given me, and angrily tearing it to shreds with my bare hands. 

  
Candace scoffed at me, slamming the hatch shut between us. “Be that way!!! You aren’t getting out of that cell until you agree to be my housekeeper.” 

“ _I SAID BITE ME!!!!_ ” I crawled towards the closed hatch, slamming my fist against the cold steel panels as I shouted back at her. 

“ _I FUCKING WILL!!!!_ ” Candace screamed back at me, no longer sitting just on the other side of the wall from me, but instead moving away back into her room. 

I wasn’t sure what had gotten into her, she was always sweet and nice to me before, what could have possessed her to want to get payback on me for winning the title, it just didn’t make sense. Rolling onto my side, I covered myself in the tatters of the dress like a blanket and closed my eyes.

I must have fallen asleep lying there on the floor, because I awoke several hours later. I was shivering, even with my makeshift blanket wrapped around me. It was a lot colder than it was when I had fallen asleep, and I was still stripped down to my undergarments, aching in the now freezing cold room. “You bitch…” I held my arms close to my chest, rubbing my arms to warm them up. 

“Are you ready to do as you’re told, Sophia?” Candace spoke to me from the other side of the cell door this time, a stern tone in her voice. 

“D-depends on wh-what you want from m-m-me…” My teeth chattered as I spoke, my breath turning to mist in the cold air. 

“For now, I just want to talk.”

I paused for a few moments, still angry at her, but willing to sit down and negotiate. “Okay…”

I leaned my back into the metal door, the torn clothes still wrapped around me, and I heard Candace do the same on the other side of the door. 

“You’re from California aren’t you, Sophia?”

“...San Francisco.”

“Then I don’t suppose you’ve heard of the Five Families, have you?”

“The mafia group?” My teeth chattered as I spoke, my back pressed against the cold steel barrier between us. “...What about them?”

“What do you know about them?”

I paused for a few moments to think, confused by Candace’s sudden interest in such a weird topic. I decided to humor the topic, not wanting to sit alone in this cold cell for much longer. 

“They’re like… the most famous mafia group in North and Central America, aren’t they?” 

“Their influence is unmatched, yes~” We paused for a few more moments as I stopped to try and remember what all I had learned about them over the years. “Sophia?”

“I’m trying to think but… th-that’s all I know.” I shuddered in the cold, my breath turning into a thick fog in the frozen air. “Why bring them up?”

“Because you’ve pissed off some really powerful people, Sophia Cavalier.”

“What… What do you mean… Who?! How?!?!” My heart began racing, my head spinning at a mile a minute as I tried to process what she was saying.

Candace only giggled.

“The Five Families of course~” 

“Why?! How did I piss off the mafia? I’ve never even dealt with them!! I don’t know anything about them!!”

“You’re closer to them than you think. I would watch where you stand.”  
I turned to face the door between us, backing away from it slowly, into the cold surface of the bench behind me. 

“You…”

A small panel in the metal door began to slide open, it was like a window sliding down towards the floor, definitely large enough for someone my size to crawl through, and Candace was sitting on the other side.

“It is awfully chilly in here isn’t it? I didn’t realize just how cold it could get~”

“What do you people want from me?”

“I’ve already told you what **_I_ **want from you… but the families, well… they want you dead…”

“ **Why** do they want me dead, Candace?!”

“Patience, little thing. I’ll get to that…”

My heart was pounding and sweat was beginning to form on my worried skin, even despite the arctic climate of my holding cell.  
“You see they really are controlled by five **actual** families… Families by blood, not something symbolic… Five clans~”

“And what do they want with me…”

“I’ll spare you the details… let’s just say one of the families is from Cuba, two of them are from our neighbors to the south… And the other two… they’re from the US, just like you… and _me~_ ”

“What could I have done to piss off five whole mafia families I’ve never even come across before?!”

“You do have a point, they aren’t **all** mad at you… just the one…”

I bit my lip, my body trembling as my deepest fears were slowly confirmed to me.

“You mean… Your family… Your family is one of them?”

“Daddy wasn’t pleased to find out that his sweet darling little angel of a daughter lost to a filthy little orphan girl…” Candace giggled to herself, an evil grin on her beautiful red lips. “It pays to have a family sometimes… wouldn’t you say, Sophia?”

“SHUT UP!!!!” I was on the verge of tears, my body trembling with fury and terror. “I don’t care if you’re some Godfather’s daughter… You’re a monster…”

“Awwww… She’s so scared of me _now~_ ”

“I’m not scared of you…”

“The look on that grimy little face of yours tells me otherwise~” Candace smiled, leaning through the open hatch towards me. “Or… Maybe you’re just jealous… After all… My Mommy and Daddy **_love_ **me~”

I was always a tough girl, never wanting to show weakness or submission even in the most dire of circumstances, but my family had always been a sour topic for me, having been taken from my parents at such a young age. I was struggling to hold back tears just thinking about them. “H-how could anyone l-love a d-demon like you…”

Candace simply laughed at me, growing happier by the second. “I don’t know… How come **_your_** parents didn’t love **_you???_** ”

“H-h-how do you e-even know about that…”

“First through last names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdate, social security, account passwords, best friends, teachers, foster parents, real parents, current and previous employers, ex-boyfriends **_and_ ** the nicknames they used to call you… I know **everything** there is to know about you… Soph… My little Collie~”

“Do **NOT** call me that....”

“I _won’t,_ I **hate** dogs!!!”

I averted my eyes from her, too worked up to even respond to her, tears beginning to well up in the corners of my eyes, to Candace’s delight.

“There are those tears that I’ve been wanting to see~”

“Shut up…”

“You’re just a weak pathetic little crybaby, aren’t you Soph?”

“D-don’t call me that either…”

“You must **_really_** want your little Poppy right now, huh?”

“S-stop talking!!!!”

“Your dear old foster mommy bought that for you… Because your real parents couldn’t stand to look at you…”

“I-it wasn’t my fault…”

“Yes it was!!!! Your mom and dad **_HIT YOU_ ** because they **_HATED YOU~!!!_ **”

“N-n-no…”

“Everything was your fault… You know that....”

“N-no!”

“Don’t lie to yourself, Sophia… You never should have been born…”

  
I whimpered quietly, hiding my face in the fabric I was using as a blanket, unable to keep myself from bawling any longer, sobbing loudly as tears began to pour out of my eyes, threatening to freeze against my cold pale skin. I couldn’t recall the last time that I had cried, it really must have been years since I showed this level of emotion to another human being, but in a way it was cathartic. It felt like a relief to not bear the pain of holding back my anger and fear and sadness like that. 

Candace sat there for a few minutes, just watching me curl up into a tearful ball on the cold stone floor. She reached in and set another pair of clothes on the floor of my cell, closing the open hatch between us again and waiting for me to calm down slightly before she spoke again. 

“Put those on and I will turn the heat back on… Don’t put them on and I won’t be feeding you tonight… I’ll return in a while to check up on you.” With that, Candace got up and exited the closet, closing the doors behind her and once again leaving me alone in my cold dark concrete cage.

I shivered, finally wiping away my tears after I’d calmed down. Crawling towards the door of my cell I picked up the clothes that Candace had set down before she left, holding them in my hands and examining them. It was another outfit fit for a french maid, this one even more revealing. I sighed loudly as I stood up to put the clothes on, unable to stand this torment anymore.

I hated the cold, I was born and raised on the west coast after all, I was able to take the heat, but I just couldn’t stand the cold. I slipped the dress up over my head, flattening the skirt out with my hands, examining it closely. 

It was black and frilly, with an apron sewn onto the front, and a pair of white strings that tie around the waist to tighten it. I sighed to myself, not excited to be wearing the uniform, the last thing I wanted was to be Candace’s servant for the foreseeable future, but I still put it on, making myself look as presentable as possible in an attempt to appease my watchful overlord. 

Sure enough, the room slowly began to warm up, the cold air making its way out of my cell. I sat down on the bench, a cold and hard block of stone built into the floor of the wall across from the door into the closet. It wasn’t softer than the floor of the cell, but leaning against the cell door was no longer comfortable. 

I rubbed my eyes, my heart still aching terribly from the verbal abuse that I’d just received, not sure whether I could bear to see her again today. Not after she’d treated me so awfully. It was terrifying to think that such powerful people wanted to kill me. Candace wasn’t who I thought she was.

I pulled my feet up onto the bench, curling up into a ball, my face hidden behind my knees. “So what if I was a foster kid… I’m still the best Starcraft player in the world…” I gripped the apron tightly in my fists, wiping my residual tears away with it. “At least I was taught not to bully people… especially not about where they came from… You’re just a cockroach trying to get under my skin…” I chuckled to myself, looking up above the door, seeing the camera in my cell for the first time. “A cockroach is a cockroach, no matter who her family is… Like father, like son…” 

“What did you just call me?” Sure enough the intercom turned back on, and Candace sounded as irritated as I had hoped. 

“A cockroach?” 

“I am not my father’s _son_ , so don’t ever call me that.”

“It’s just an expression…”

Candace sighed in exasperation, pausing for a few moments before giving up. “I’m glad to see you’ve finally put on your uniform. Does this mean you agree to my terms?”

“Hell no!!! Next time I see your stupid face I’m gonna kick your fucking ass!!!” 

“I see you’re back to being stubborn and bullheaded...”

I jumped to my feet in anger, still looking up at the camera as I stomped towards the door. “Open this fucking door or I’ll make your life a fucking nightmare…”

Candace simply laughed. “What are you going to do, whine at me??? You’re completely powerless from in there. You couldn’t make a dent in that door if you had a million years!!!”

I growled furiously, winding my right arm back and pounding my fist into the door. The impact made a loud thunk, echoing through the entire cell, but the steel barrier was still intact.

“See what I mean, Cavalier? I have complete and total control over your life from now on… and you aren’t leaving that cell until you agree to my terms~”

I pounded my other fist into the door, my knuckles cracking with pain, continuously beating the door with both of my fists, wanting nothing more than to wallop my captor in the face.

“Are you even listening to me anymore? Or have you lost your mind? You **can’t** break that door!!”

I ignored her, dropping to my knees as I desperate barraged the cell door with all the strength I could muster.

“You’re going to hurt yourself you imbecile!!! You’ll break your hands before you ever make a scratch!!!”

She was right, I could feel my knuckles bruising, every punch hurt even worse than the last one, but I couldn’t do anything about it, there was nothing I could do, I really was helpless.

“I… As much as I’d love to see you in pain… I think I’d prefer to inflict that pain myself~”

I pressed my head into the door, beginning to tap on it with my forehead, still thrusting my curled hands into the metal barrier, unable to keep my head held high any longer.

“This is getting difficult to watch… Please stop...”

I shook my head, feeling tears well up in the corners of my eyes again, beginning to pound my head into the door as hard as I could, wailing against the steel wall with the entire length of my arms now.

I’d never felt so helpless before, so powerless, so weak. Tears were streaming down my cheeks for the second time today, yet still I was unable to stop myself from pounding against the door. 

But as I kept going, the door suddenly began to open. I fell to my hands and knees, wincing in pain as my bruised skin contacted the cold stone floor beneath me. I looked up, and for a brief moment my eyes met Candace’s, standing on the other side of the door, staring down at me. 

Then came another impact, as Candace slammed her foot into the side of my head, sending me hurdling back towards the ground, unable to hold myself up and bruised fists. 

“Threaten me all you want Cavalier, but I refuse to watch my trophy damage herself before my eyes.”

I breathed heavily, struggling to regain my composure. “I told you to bite me.”

She growled angrily, bringing her other foot to my face, kicking upwards, smacking me directly in the mouth. “Shut your frothing rabid mouth and get up!!!”

I rose to my knees, still looking up at her angrily, ready to defend myself this time. 

“Are you going to kick my ass now Soph?? Didn’t you want to fight me?? I’m right here!!” In an instant I watched her expression change from smug and condescending to shocked and fearful as I jumped to my feet with inhuman speed, slamming my nearly blackened fist square against her nose, slamming her head backwards. 

I winced loudly, clutching my pained fist, it was covered in blood now. I looked back towards my tormentor, rubbing her nose, her own hands also covered in blood as it spilled from her nostrils. “Lucky shot…”

She grinned eagerly, stepping towards me and grabbing me at my wrist, spinning me around and slamming my back into the wall opposite the woman’s bedroom. Before I could move, she was slamming her own fist into my chest, stopping my breath.

I slid to the floor once again, unable to breathe. The last thing I saw before everything went fuzzy was the bottom of Candace’s shoe soaring towards my face.

The world was still spinning when I awoke. My entire body was in pain, and I could barely breathe. The door to the cell was still wide open, and Candace was sitting on the floor across from me. I tried moving towards the door, but I was stuck in place. 

Whining to myself, I took a few more moments to come to my senses, looking around the once again freezing cold cell. Candace was sitting on the floor, her legs crossed, leaning back against the hatch that opens up into her room. She had a bandage on her nose, and a stylish blue winter coat around her torso. I on the other hand was not at all that comfortable. It was freezing cold again and I was still only wearing the maid uniform that Candace had given me, even worse, there were now ice packs pressed against my knuckles, my hands wrapped together to keep them in place. My arms were suspended above me, splayed out across the wall, my wrists bound by shackles built into the stone surface behind me, keeping me restrained. I leaned against the wall on my knees, my legs being the only things that weren’t bound by cold heavy chains. 

“Don’t even think about kicking my dinner over or you won’t be getting any~” Candace was sitting across from me, not making eye contact as she spoke and instead looking down at a platter of warm cooked food in her lap, bringing a mug of what looked like hot tea to her lips to drink from for a few moments. 

“As if you’d feed me anyways…” I took a few moments to catch my breath, a pain in my chest stinging me whenever I tried to breathe. 

“ **_I told you already, I’ll feed you if you BEHAVE._ **” She was clearly exasperated, and no longer having very much fun at all, occasionally reaching up to rub her clearly pained nose, a bruise visible under the bandage. “If I’d known you were going to be such a hassle, I would have rethought my entire plan…” 

“Did you really expect me to bend over like a helpless little girl?”

“I had **_hoped_ ** for as much… But I guess you’re more of a little orphan Annie type…” Candace began giggling to herself, and I couldn’t help but join her after that comment.

“Endlessly optimistic, you mean?”

“Stubborn.” Candace smiled, picking up her spoon and tapping the bottom of the handle against my forehead. I shook my head, smirking at her for a moment before my smile quickly faded. 

“I used to think you were a good person you know… especially during those months leading up to the championship…” I tilted my head upward, meeting her eyes with mine. “But you really are a terrible awful monster…”

Candace interrupted me, setting her spoon down and swallowing her food. “The world is a heinously cruel and unfair place… where horrible things happen to all sorts of people for little to no reason at all.” She picked her ceramic mug up and brought it to her lips again, gazing into my eyes as she did so, never breaking eye contact with me. “You never _really_ get to control your destiny... I didn’t _choose_ to be born the way I was.” Her gaze trailed downwards for just a moment, setting her empty plate aside and forcefully squeezing her thighs together. “I was born into my family, and you were born into yours… You just have to go along with what the world decides to throw at you… even and _especially_ when it decides to throw the bad things at you…”

She set her mug aside and smiled at me, pulling her knees to her chest. “And right now, the world is throwing everything it’s got at you, trying to beat you into the ground… _I’m_ throwing everything I’ve got at you… You can either fight against what’s in store for you… or you can learn to live through it… live with it, and maybe you’ll find something good on the other side~”

“What are you trying to say to me… what is it that you want me to do… How am I supposed to trust someone who’s only out to ruin my life and make me as miserable as possible… How do I trust someone who only wants to hurt me...” 

“Because that’s not what I want… Sure, I want to hurt you, but that’s not the only thing that I want… I want my revenge, yes… But if I wanted you dead… You’d be dead... “

“You keep talking like you want something **_more_ **from me than just ruining my life. What is it? ...What else is it that you want?”

“I want to make **_you_ **a part of the most powerful family in the world…”

My heart skipped a beat, suddenly feeling butterflies in my chest, able to breathe again. “A part of… your family?”

She grinned, nodding her head, her deep blue eyes glistening in the dim light of the cell. “You have two choices.”

I took a deep breath, nodding in compliance. 

“One. Resist… remain as you are now, keep fighting, keep losing, and starve to death in this cold cell… alone and afraid…Or...” She paused for a few moments, letting me soak in everything she was saying. 

“Two. Submit… Give up your old life... forget your name, everyone you know, everything you own, and start again, right here, right now… A second chance… Do everything I say, and begin a new life… With me…”

I bit my lip, staring at the ground in dismay, watching more tears fall from my face and soak into the floor beneath me, unable to control my emotions. I pulled on the chains that bound me as hard as I could, knowing I could never break them.

“...Why would I want to be a part of your family?”

“Because you have no family, Sophia….” Candace reached towards me, tenderly placing her hand on my cheek, lifting my head to face her. “I have eyes and ears everywhere… and I was prepared to face anyone who tried to come find you… but…”

There were tears rolling out of her eyes, she was beginning to cry. 

“Nobody is looking for you… Are they?”

My heart sank, a terrible weight in my chest dragging me down.

“You don’t have anyone… Do you?”  
I sniffled, trying to smile as I spoke, tears flowing out of my eyes as I shook my head. “No… Wh-what’s the point of a useless championship title if I have no one to come to my funeral… Right?” 

Candace placed her other hand on my cheek. “You poor girl…” She picked my head up, holding it in both hands, staring directly into my eyes. “You have to make your choice… Resist or Submit...”

I bit my down again, choking on my tears as I sobbed, barely able to breathe anymore. 

“Submit… I submit...” I broke down, unable to fight back any longer. “I’ll do what you say… Please… I can’t…”

  
“Hush now…” Candace silenced me, holding me close to her as I sobbed, stroking my hair as I bawled. “This isn’t going to be easy for you… I expect you’ll try to escape from my grasp, but…” Candace reached up, wiping her own tears dry before rubbing my back gently. “I have plenty of defenses against that…” 

We sat there for a few moments in silence as I calmed down, she removed the wraps around my fists, helping me regain my composure before she rose to her feet, standing over me. 

“Tomorrow you will begin your work as my housemaid… I will feed and house you, and in exchange you will do everything I say… or you will be punished further.”

“What about right now…”

“Right now… is a test of your resolve, try to get some sleep while chained to that wall, and be ready to perform exceptionally for your first day~”

“Okay…” 

“The proper thing to say, is Yes Ma’am~”

I sighed, my cheeks turning pink as I blushed. “Yes Ma’am….” 

“Very good… And one more thing before you go to bed…”

She leaned down to make eye contact with me one last time. 

“From now on… No mentioning what you did, the championship, or anything like that… I don’t want to hear the name ‘Sophia Cavalier’ ever again~”

“But… that’s **_my name_ **…”

“Not anymore it’s not~”

“I… I don’t understand…”

“From now on… Your name will be…”

She paused for a few moments, thinking to herself before smiling.

“Chloe.”


	9. Hot Under The Collar

I cried myself to sleep after Candace left my cell.

  
I had given in and agreed to work for her, submitting to my kidnappers demands. She has a way with words, and I couldn’t help but to feel like she had somehow manipulated me into giving her the answer she wanted.

Of course there were people that cared about me, I was a world championship esports player after all, I must have fans out there somewhere. Surely someone must be looking for me, right?

My foster parents are still around, they must have found out about my accomplishments and wanted to come congratulate me… Except they never did….

Even if none of my fans cared about me at all, my manager must care about me, he’s my friend… well, he was my friend… then my boyfriend… and then my ex-boyfriend… 

_Sigh._

There really wasn’t anyone looking for me, was there?

I pulled on my manacles, still chained to the wall, unable to move any further than adjusting my legs every few hours, at least she had turned the heat back on. 

I’d called out for Candace a couple of times since I’d woken up, but I had yet to receive any reply, she must have still been asleep.

I still wondered whether I had made the right choice last night, agreeing to do this. I still wanted to escape, of course I still wanted to escape, that’s why I agreed to do this.

I didn’t **_really_ ** want this… Did I?

Eventually I heard noises from the closet to my right, and in a few minutes, Candace was opening the cell door and stepping inside. She was clean and dressed, smiling at me eagerly. “Having second thoughts, **_Chloe_ **?”

I growled at her. “Nothing but second thoughts… And don’t call me that.” 

“Shut your mouth **NOW** or you I won’t feed you.” She tapped her foot impatiently, gesturing for me to respond appropriately.

I sighed and hung my head. “Yes Ma’am…”  
She smiled proudly, still gesturing at me. “Now apologize.”

I grumbled in annoyance, glaring down at the ground. “Sorry Ma’am…”

“Very good!!”

Candace once again sat down on the floor across from me with her legs crossed, she had a small bowl of food with her like she had last night, but this bowl didn’t look nearly as appetizing. Grinning to herself, she scooped a large chunk of the weird food mush into her spoon, holding it up to my mouth. “Open wide~”

I turned my head away from the weird mush. “You don’t need to hand feed me!!”

“I’m aware, but I want to!! _Now open your mouth!!_ ”

I continued to dodge out of the way of the foul smelling concoction. “No… Ew… What even is that?!”

Candace smirked, giggling at my dismay. “I have no idea!! But it smells awful, doesn’t it?”

“YES!!!!!!”

Candace shoved the spoonful of gross slop into my mouth as I shouted, glaring me down and forcing me to chew and swallow it, gasping for relief once it was down. 

“As I have previously alluded to, you aren’t the first case of human trafficking my family is responsible for, and you surely will not be the last… We have a whole facility where we take our kidnapped victims to, where we have them trained and sold to wealthy paying owners… **_This_ **is what we feed them… It’s specially made to give you enough strength to do as you’re told, but not enough strength to be able to put up any sort of a fight~!!”

I coughed, gagging loudly, wishing I could spit it back out. “I don’t care where it’s from!! That’s disgusting!!”

“Yes it is!! It’s supposed to be…” Candace reached towards me once again, squeezing my face in her hand, tilting my head to face her. “Now open your mouth **and eat it.** ” I grimaced, opening my jaws and letting her scoop another spoonful of the foul slush into my mouth. 

“I hate it... so much…”

“I **told** you this wasn’t going to be easy~!!”

I whined loudly, reluctantly letting the stronger girl feed the entire bowl to me, barely able to keep myself from vomiting. Once she was done and satisfied, I made sure to spit directly into her face. This did not amuse her.

“I will no longer put up with this, thrall… Fight back against me _even slightly_ , and you will be getting punished. **Last warning.** ” She rose to her feet, setting the bowl down next to the hatch connected to her bedroom wall. “Now then… I expect you to clean yourself, there’s a bathroom for you connected to the closet… Once you’re done, get dressed and return to your cell. Understood?”

I glared at her, pulling against the chains with my wrists. “Yes Ma’am… _I understand_ …” 

Candace glared back at me, pressing the tip of her foot against my chest and forcefully shoving my back against the wall. “Lose the **FUCKING ATTITUDE** before I kick your teeth out **.** ”

“Y-yes Ma’am! I’m sorry.” My face turned bright pink in embarrassment as I spoke, not wanting Candace to kick me again, I was still recovering from last night.

She pulled her foot from my chest, placing it down on my own foot, crushing my toes under her shoes before stepping back into her closet, mumbling to herself as she left. “Fucking animal…”

I whined restlessly, growing weary of the bondage keeping me in place. Once Candace had returned to her bedroom and closed the door behind her, suddenly the manacles opened on their own, letting me out to wander back into Candace’s closet for the first time since I’d been put in my cell. I rubbed my wrists, stepping into the larger space, it was upsetting that her walk in closet was larger and more spacious than the tiny little bunker I’d been forced to sleep in. I angrily pulled on the door to Candace’s room, trying to break open the locked door to no avail. The entrance to Candace’s personal bathroom was also locked, but across from the closet door to Candace’s room was another secret door, now swung wide open.

The small bathroom was slightly bigger than my own cell, complete with a shower off in one end, a small sink with a mirror over it, some shelves on the wall next to the mirror, a tiny bench in another corner, an empty bucket under the sink, and a toilet that didn’t look like it worked. “Gross…”

After Candace shut the hot water off about halfway through my shower, I hurried to get myself cleaned off and dressed, putting on a clean uniform left to me by the Mistress. 

I quickly returned to my cell, closing the door behind me and kneeling on the floor, the room filled with a quiet sadness.

The top panel of the hatch between my room and Candace’s slid open, a pair of manacles attached to the panel beneath it. 

“Hands in the shackles, slave.”

I bit my lip, swallowing my pride as I placed my wrists in the manacles, watching Candace’s neatly manicured hands lock them away. Once my hands were bound together by the shackles, they detached from the panel, letting me stand up, my wrists now bound together by the cold metal restraints. “Come.” Candace slowly slid the panel closed, before wirelessly opening the door out of my cell, opening the way into her room. 

“As I’ve said, I don’t _want_ to kill you, but if you fail me today…”

My heart stopped, I almost jumped out of my skin as she said that. 

“But you said-”

“Silence.” She stepped toward me, grabbing me by the neck of my uniform and curling her fist. “I told you to be ready to perform exceptionally well for your first day. Are you not ready to perform exceptionally well today?”

I gulped. “I am.”

“Then you should perform exceptionally well today… Do so and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

“Yes Ma’am.” My heart was beating unreasonably fast now, threatening to burst through my chest and splatter onto the floor. 

“Only once you have finished will I decide whether or not to let you live… But fail me early on and I’ll be forced to end early, I don’t want you wasting any of my time.” She looked me up and down, her arms behind her waist. “On your knees, slave.”

I kneeled, bending to her will out of fear, gazing up at her from below, unsure of where to put my hands. 

“No. You’re to look down when you kneel.” She said as she placed the ball of one foot on top of my head, pointing my gaze downward. 

“I… Sorry…”

“You’re to address me as Master from now on until the end of time, understood?”

“Understood…”

“What was that, slave?”

I watched Candace’s foot lift off the ground, nestling under my chin and tilting my head once again back up to face her, she was frowning. “Try again.”

“Yes… Master…” 

“Very good.”

“What do I need to do?” I looked up at her, pulling my chin away as she set her foot back down.

Candace smiled, folding her arms behind her back. “You want to earn this position, don’t you?”

“Very much so…” I licked my lips, quickly amending. “Master.”

“Then prove to me that you are even a worthy candidate for this role. You’ve had your metaphorical interview, now think of today as your job application.” Candace’s heart was pumping with excitement, she could hardly believe that the day where she could wipe the floors with Sophia Cavalier had finally arrived. “I won’t be guiding you through this. If you truly want the position you’re after, you’ll need to prove to me that you’re capable of fulfilling the job description.” She grinned, her face beaming with excitement. “Do anything and everything you can to amaze me.” 

I steeled myself, getting ready to shove all of my pride and arrogance to the ground. I was going to do everything in my power to impress her. “How would I perform exceptionally well today... Master?”

Candace stepped forward, leaning over her kneeling slave, gleefully watching the shock on my face as she produced a length of chain from behind her back. “My lips are sealed~” She giggled to herself, reaching down and attaching the heavy lead to my handcuffs. “Ready?”

I swallowed, nodding my head to her. I was already sweating nervously, but there was no time to wipe the beads from my forehead, there would be no time to catch my breath. “I’m ready.”

Wrapping the chain around her right hand, she reached for her bracelet. With a single button press the doors around us unlocked, and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of a ticking clock around her wrist. A countdown timer for my judgment. “Go.”

I rose to my feet and headed for the door. Not only was I going to have to do this on my own with my hands tied together, I was going to have to physically drag Candace along with me.

 _What was I supposed to do?_ _What was most important? What needs to be cleaned?_

Nervously stumbling through a house whose layout I had forgotten, I quickly encountered my first hurdle. “Where are the cleaning supplies?” 

I turned to face the woman behind me. She was clutching the chain as tight as she could, but she was simply using it to follow me, instead of leading.  
Candace made eye contact with her new slave and smirked, but instead of giving me a verbal answer she simply looked at her bracelet. I could hear the menacing _tick tick tick_ of the timer on her digital wristband, making sure that I knew I was on the clock. _Fuck me._

I turned towards the kitchen. My apartment was pretty small, so I had always kept cleaning supplies under the sink. My mind was racing, I was in such a race that I almost missed the mess of glass shards that I had created the night I had been delivered here, like a trap that I had accidentally left for myself. 

I was of course barefoot. The look on Candace’s face told me that she had planned on this. She of course had no reason or desire to step through a minefield of ceramic splinters, and as I carefully navigated towards the sink, she remained stationary. The leash pulled taut, making every step more difficult.

I sighed quietly. The drawer beneath the faucet was locked. In fact, all of the drawers I could reach were locked, and judging from Candace’s posture, struggling to reach any of the other drawers wasn’t going to do any good.  
I couldn’t possibly expect to leave the kitchen in a state like this. Even if there wasn’t a waste basket nearby, I had to get the glass off of the kitchen floor as soon as I could. “Apologies for the mess… I’ll get this cleaned right away.” 

I carefully kneeled, making sure not to cut my knees on the shattered dinnerware, or more importantly, damage or soil my uniform. I slowly crawled across the wooden floor back to Candace’s side, picking up every glass shard I could see and placing them in the pocket of my apron.

Once I had finished I stood, looking up at the Mistress to gauge her response. Candace, unfortunately, was stoic. Determined not to let me draw any insight from her reaction, though she did of course take note of my performance. 

  
The clock was ticking, and my heart was beating just as fast. Failing to impress her was certainly going to spell my doom. I couldn’t clean any floors or surfaces without supplies, but I could make an attempt to correct my mistakes from the previous nights. 

Maneuvering through the manor wasn’t easy, I might have wanted to move as quickly as I could, but Candace was in no hurry. She moved no quicker than her normal walking pace, and it was natural to think that my future Master’s comfort was the most important thing to keep in mind.

Whatever I did, I was going to ensure that my actions didn’t inconvenience her. Even if it meant moving at a snail’s pace. 

Every movement she made, no matter how small, made things more difficult. A single movement of her guiding hand meant yanking on both of my wrists, swaying my entire body on a whim and often knocking me off balance, even if it was unintentional. I wasn’t sure that she was even noticing the care I was putting into ensuring her comfort, but I was confident that she’d notice if I did somehow hamper her movements, and I wanted to avoid that. 

I lead the two of us through the dining room, tucking all of the chairs, including one that I had thrown at the adjacent glass door, back under the table. 

Candace had ensured that every single mess that I had made was left for me to clean up.

Including the precious ornament that I’d smashed onto the floor of the lounge.

Up to this point Candace had looked stoic. Now she looked furious.

_Oops._

“A-again my sincerest of apologies for the inconvenience, and for the blatant disrespect I’ve shown you in your own home.” My voice sounded so foreign to me. It was so formal, so deferential, so polite. I usually wasn’t any of these things, humility was one thing, but reverence was another. There was a strange feeling overcoming me; bowing suddenly felt natural. “Master~”

Candace smiled, letting the chain between us grow slack. It was a relief to finally get a positive reaction from her, even if it was something as small as a smile. She nodded for me to continue my work. 

And I did, once again picking up the shards of my mistakes off of the floor. As I did so, Candace crossed the room, leaning against one of the walls. I picked the tumbled pedestal back up, beginning to head out of the lounge when the leash pulled tight. 

Candace was too busy staring at one of the paintings in the corner opposite from me, a picture of a ghastly yet strangely beautiful woman in what looked like her early thirties, along with what looked to be her son. Candace was too enthralled by whoever she was to notice what it was I was doing, and as intent as I was on not disturbing her by pulling on my chains, she still hadn’t noticed the leash slowly pulling taut. 

Naturally, I stepped towards the painting, partially to get into the other woman’s field of vision, but mostly out of curiosity. The woman in the portrait was unusually pale in both skin tone and hair. Her eyes, red like the setting sun, and from what could be seen of her child, his appearance looked to be about the same, eyes and all. I approached the frame, trying to make sure there was nothing about it or any of the other paintings that I needed to attend to. _Maybe it’s crooked, or does it need dusted?_ _  
_ I heard Candace audibly gasp from behind me as soon as she saw me approaching the painting, and after just a moment I was around in place.  
Candace violently pulled on the chain. My hands, which were in front of me as I stood there, were suddenly yanked behind me, instantly turning me in place and sending me stumbling towards Candace. 

Disoriented, I fell to my knees with a heavy slam, shaking the floor as I landed. Candace’s face was flushed with fury as I spun, but quickly dialed back to irritation as soon as I was on the ground once again. 

The anger she was feeling watching me approach what I assumed now was an important piece of her family history was seemingly replaced by annoyance at the new mess that had been made on the lounge floor. None of the other pieces of art had fallen over and shattered, but as I spun the shatters of glass I had been collecting in my apron must have spilled out, like a sprinkler watering the lawn. 

And I quickly realized that I had landed on quite a few of them. Slamming forcefully onto my bare hands and knees, crashing down on top of the many sharp pieces of broken glass and ceramic, had naturally sent a number of them into my skin, like sliding a needle into a pincushion. My hands, which had suffered the brunt of breaking my fall, were now bleeding.

_I need to hide this before she notices._

“So sorry again, Ma’am!! I’d be more than happy to pick those up again. I can’t expect my lady to walk on floors littered with shards.” I dropped to my knees, desperately picking up the shattered shards of my dignity with my slowly bleeding hands. 

It was going to hurt, but if I left the splinters in my palms, I was less likely to drip blood all over the halls as I tried to work.

Candace sighed loudly, and I could feel my hands being lifted upwards slightly with the chain as she tilted her head backwards, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance. She shook her head and lowered the chain after a moment, looking down at her wrist. As she checked her bracelet, I could suddenly hear the time ticking away, louder now than ever. I desperately needed to pick up the pace. What sort of person would hire a maid who spilled broken glass all over the manor floor while she demonstrated her abilities. 

Caltrop enthusiasts, maybe. But Candace was the opposite of impressed.

“I’m not usually this clumsy, I swear.” My voice shook with fear and anxiety. It was true, I had always had steady and careful hands, as expected from a world class Esports player, you couldn’t win a match of Starcraft if your hands weren’t steady enough to use the mouse. Even as they bled, my hands remained steady, despite being bound together and tugged by my restraints. It wasn’t my fault that the glass spilled from my pocket, if Candace had stopped to think before angrily and violently knocking me to the ground, this wouldn’t have happened. But I was in no position to point that out to her. 

From where I stood, the most important thing was showing respect and diligence to my captor. No one in their rightful mind would be pleased with hearing their servant mock them. 

I slowly attempted to rise from my knees, confident that there didn’t remain any pieces of glass on the floor, even if a few of them had lodged themselves into my skin. But one such shard, caught just beneath my knee joint, had other plans for me. I wasn’t going to stand until I pulled that one out. Candace tilted her head as she watched me pull the bloody shard of glass from my skin. Her eyebrows raised curiously.

“Looks like I landed on one… Nothing to worry about, it’s just a scratch.” I quickly covered up my hands and knees and hid the glass shard away from her watchful gaze. Turning heel, I faced down the hall back towards the parlor. 

“M-maybe in a bit I can feed the cat, wh-what’s his name?” I nervously made my way back down the hallway with Candace behind me, only turning around once to gauge her reaction.

“Her name is Thea~” Candace couldn’t help but let out a quiet giggle, smiling eagerly at me and shaking her head as she reluctantly broke her silence. “Now quiet you, I’m not supposed to be talking.” 

“B-but how am I doing?” I desperately turned my whole body to face her, eager to take a moment to get pressure off of my injured leg. “You’re not disappointed are you?”

Candace wrapped my leash around her arm a few times, stepping towards me and roughly pulling my face towards her. Our faces were less than a foot apart, she was staring me directly in the eyes, giggling at me. She seemed to be enjoying herself somewhat, smiling in a less intimidating and more friendly manner. “Less cheating. More working.”

My heart was racing desperately, I knew that I was running out of time, the sound of Candace’s timer made it obvious, but I was running out of things that I could clean without supplies. I rounded the corner into the parlor, passing Thea’s bedroom. _Without the cat food I can’t do that either._

The sun seemed to already be setting, my eyes scanned the parlor and my heart nearly skipped a beat. Over in the corner looked to be some sort of supply closet, I hadn’t been able to see it when I first arrived here, the house was completely pitch black by the time I had reached the parlor for the first time. Trying not to rush Candace’s stride, I eagerly made my way to the closet and opened up the door. 

_Cleaning supplies, finally!!!_

I hurriedly took ahold of the waste bin on the floor of the closet, beginning to dispose of the shards of glass I’d been carrying around. I then turned my attention to the mop bucket.

Even if there was less than an hour left before my time was up, if I could do just a little bit of mopping the floor, maybe I could impress her enough to save my skin.

My hands gripped the handle of the broom, and my body very nearly collapsed in shock. The broken shards in my palms dug deeper into my skin, blood began to drip down the handle of the mop. I turned around, shaking nervously watching the lead grow more and more slack as Candace quickly approached me. 

She grabbed the chain by my wrist, forcefully pulling both of my hands off of the handle. There was a red stain on the wood where I’d just been grasping at, and as she roughly turned both of my palms face up, there was a pretty grizzly array of glass splinters in my bleeding skin. Scoffing loudly, Candace leaned down and grabbed the hem of my uniform, flipping my entire skirt upwards to take a closer look at the glass shards embedded in the surface of my knees.

I didn’t even have time to get flustered before she let go of the skirt, shaking her head in disappointment.

“I’ve seen enough.”

“No!!!” I lurched towards her desperately, my voice shaking. “I- I haven’t even finished cleaning up after myself, there’s still time left for me to get everything done-”

Candace _snarled_. “I told you I would be forced to stop you early if you disappointed me.”

“But I’m trying my best!! I was even going to feed your cat-”

“I can feed my own cat, Sophia.”

“Of course!! But so can-” I stopped. “Sophia?”

My heart retched. Never before had I felt so mortified hearing my name said. “I-I thought you said you didn’t want to hear that name anymore… Just last night you said-”

“I **don’t** want to hear your name anymore. Luckily I’m not going to hear **anything** from you for very much longer.” Candace turned in place, beginning to grasp at the chain, dragging me all the way back into my prison to have me starved. 

I was falling apart, unable to do anything at all except follow in her footsteps like an obedient lapdog. Even in my quickly crumbling state, something felt terribly wrong, not even tears were coming to me. It felt as if my life didn’t mean anything at all, it didn’t matter whether or not I was about to die or not, the world was spinning around me.

All of a sudden I truly did think of Candace St. Clair as my Master, and I was hers. 

It didn’t matter that I was about to die. I didn’t care. All of a sudden the only thing that mattered was that I’d failed her, suddenly the greatest pain in the world was knowing that I was never going to get the chance to truly and properly serve her. 

I dropped to my knees on the cold hard floor of Candace’s closet, just as she was about to shove my back into my cell one final time. 

“This isn’t fair… I know you’re not impressed, but it’s not fair!!!”

I looked up at her, my hands and knees trembling. “I don’t know where you keep things, I don’t know what all there is to be done, I don’t know what it is that you want me to do!!”

I bowed, placing my open hands on the floor in front of me and lying prostrate at her feet. “But I can figure it out… I can learn… I can be taught.”

I felt Candace tighten her grip on the leash. She turned to face me directly, getting ready to pull my back to my feet.

“I can listen to you. I can do as I’m told. I can follow!!” I choked on my own quivering voice, biting back a stream of sobs as I grovelled at her feet. “... I can follow directions. I can do as I’m told, I mean it!!”

Unable to hold back the tears anymore, I wept. Unconcerned with any sense of pride that I might have previously had, I wept. “Please… tell me what to do, I’ll do it!! Anything!! Please!!” I lifted my head to gaze up at her from below. “Please… I can be useful… You just have to tell me what to do...” Tears streamed down my face as I pleaded, pooling on the floor beneath me. “I want to serve you. Faithfully. Loyally. Obediently.”

Candace’s gaze met mine, gazing down at me from the heavens above. “Do you really think you can make up for your gross incompetence with just dedication?”

“I do… If you’ll just give me the chance…” I stared deep into her sparkling eyes, desperate to see her smile at me again.

“You’ll follow every order?”

“I’ll follow every order.”  
“You’ll abide by every rule?”

“I’ll abide by every rule.”

“You’ll obey every command?”

“I’ll obey every command.”

“And you’ll do so without hesitation? Without complaint? Without regret?”

“Without hesitation. Without complaint. Without regret.”

The words spilled from my lips with ease, never before had any words come so easily to me, and I meant them. They came from the bottom of my heart, and I meant them more than anything that I had ever said before.

“I will expect nothing less from you.” Candace released the chain from her hand, letting it fall to the floor in front of her, following the leash all the way to my manacles and releasing my still aching hands. “I will expect that and so much more.” 

Candace smiled at me, sending my heart fluttering.

“Crawl into your cell while I go get your collar~” 

I bit my lip, still choking on my tears as I nod.

“What do we say, Chloe?”

“Y-yes Master…”

“Good girl~”

Candace returned to me in my cell, collar in hand. “Do you know what this means, Chloe?”

My body was trembling, I was still in turmoil about the rush of emotion I’d just been through, leaving me only capable of shaking my head at her as I sobbed.

She kneeled in front of me, holding the metal band in her hands. “This is your collar!! When you’re ready, I’m going to put it around your neck, and you’re going to officially be _mine~_ ”

I bit my lip and stared down at it, my heart racing. “You mean...“

Before I could finish my sentence, Candace gave me a reassuring smile and nodded. “Your obedience has always been what’s important to me. Even if you disappointed me today, as long as you’re good and you listen, you can be trained~”

I let out a heavy sigh of relief, rubbing the tears from my eyes. “Thank you… Master…”

Candace giggled quietly. “Alright now… On your knees.” She held the collar out to me. “This is your reward.”

I got down on my knees, facing Candace directly, my palms face up on my thighs. “What happens after it’s on?”

“Once this collar is around your neck, it will never come off.” She reached her soft hands up and wiped the tears from my eyes. “Once it’s on, you belong to me… Forever.”

My heart fluttered with happiness. “Forever?”

She smiled and nodded. “Forever.”

_Click._

After just a few moments, Candace reached behind my head with the metal band, pressing it against my skin, and permanently closing the collar around my neck.

She slipped one of her fingers under the band and gave it a firm tug. “How do you feel?”

“I feel… Good...” I sniffled back the last of my tears, gazing directly into Candace’s eyes.

She smiled. “What do we say?”

“Thank you, Master… Thank you so much.”

↞✶↠

That was how I ended up with this collar. 

That was how I ended up in this place.

That was how I became Candace’s slave.

“I don’t want to sleep in my cell tonight, Master.” I clung to her, not wanting to leave her side. 

“That’s just the drugs talking Chloe, you need to get some sleep.” Candace gave me a firm push, trying to detach me from her arm. 

“No, please… I don’t want to leave you…”

“Where else am I supposed to put you Chloe? I can’t have you wandering the house at night~” Candace giggled, shaking her head at me. “Just because you got spayed today doesn’t mean you get to sleep in the guest bedroom.”

I rubbed my head against her shoulder, still unable to filter my thoughts thanks to the sedatives I’d been given at the medical facility. “I don’t want to sleep in the guest bedroom either!!”

Candace rolled her eyes and grabbed Poppy from my arms, pulling me in front of her and having the stuffed animal look me in the eyes, giggling at me. 

“Speak Chloe. Where do you wanna sleep tonight?”

I giggled at her, snatching Poppy back from her. “I wanna sleep in your bed!!” My face turned bright red as soon as the words left my mouth, realizing what I had just said. “With you…”

Candace sighed at me. “I… Chloe…”

“You told me you wanted to make me a part of your family!!” I blurted out loudly, my cheeks still flushed. “Wh-what does that mean… How can I be a part of your family if you keep me so far away…” I sniffled back a few more tears, shaking my head. “I feel so alone…”

Candace blushed, shaking her head slightly. “Chloe…”

“Master?” I looked up at her, squeezing my stuffed puppy to my chest. 

Candace sighed, smiling at me and shaking her head. “Say please…”

“Please Master?” I smiled at her eagerly.

She giggled and nodded. “Okay… You can sleep with your Master tonight if you really want to.”

I grinned like an idiot, a warm feeling spreading through my chest. “I do…”

Candace’s cheeks turned bright pink just thinking about it. “I do too...”

She placed her arm around me, closing the door to my cell and leading me back into her bedroom, sliding the closet door closed behind us.

She turned me towards her bed and firmly pushed me towards it. “It’s time for bed Chloe. I’ll go get you a straightjacket.”

I set Poppy down, climbing into Candace’s bed. “Yes Master… Thank you…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so very proud of the story up to this point and i'm so happy i finally got to this part of the story!  
> I had been planning on revealing the secret of their rivalry since the very beginning, and i'm proud of the little hints i sprinkled in since even the first chapter~  
> This is as far as I had planned on getting when I started the story, and though I have plans on where the story will go from here,  
> (((and at least one more big secret that i've been sprinkling throughout the story already)))  
> i need a little break from this for a little while, so as of right now Candace and Chloe are on hiatus (((while i work on another story, which i'm also super proud of))), if people like this one and want to see it continue i would love it if you'd let me know <3  
> i'll see you when the Matron and her Handmaiden return~


	10. Cleaning Up Her Act

“We need to talk, Chloe.”

For the first time in months, I woke up in an actual bed. Candace’s bed. 

I could remember every moment of last night perfectly. Waking up after my surgery, making a fool of myself in the car, and having the worst breakdown of my entire life.  
But once it was all over, Candace embraced me. She **forgave** me. I felt a feeling of ease in my chest knowing that she had finally forgiven me.  
But I knew that it was all going to come crashing down in the morning.

“In just two weeks you’ve gone from trying to rip my heart out from my body, to begging for permission to sleep in my bed.”

Candace wasted no time. She had things to say and she was going to say them.

“What am I supposed to think, Chloe?” Candace paced back and forth across the parlor, barely stopping to look at me when she spoke. 

“I want to believe that you’ve learned your lesson. I want to believe that you’re ready for the next step. I want to believe that you’re ready to submit to me.” The sound of Candace’s heels clicking against the floor echoed through the halls of the otherwise empty house. “But for all I know, you’re just trying to trick me again. Maybe you’re genuinely ready for the next step, but maybe you’re just trying to get close to me so that you can try to kill me again.”

She had a point. Not even I knew the truth about how I was feeling. 

From day one I had been filled with anger and disgust and sadness, but I felt something towards Candace now, there was a part of me that wanted to be by her side for the rest of my life, and that part of me was getting bigger by the day.

Even if I did know how I felt however, I wasn’t able to respond. Candace had promptly removed the straightjacket that I’d been forced to sleep in, and instead shackled me to the large center table in the parlor so that I could watch her pace. My mouth muzzled like it was meant to be.

“Chloe…” Candace turned to face me, settling into the largest chair in the parlor, the seat she usually relaxed in. But she was anything but relaxed right now, her entire body tensed. Her face hidden was behind her hand, clearly trying to conceal whatever emotions she was feeling right now.

“We need to talk.” As quickly as she had sat down, she rose back to her feet, her high heels clicking loudly as she walked over to me, tipping my head forward so that she could remove my muzzle, letting it fall into my lap.  
She placed one finger beneath my chin, lifting my flustered face up to look at her, giving me a gentle smile. “And we need to talk openly.”

“Candace…” I bit my lip, quickly averting my gaze from her, not wanting her to see the shame in my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“No. I don’t want to hear that right now.” Candace sat back down in her seat, glaring at me. 

Candace was clearly waiting for me to say something, but I couldn’t manage to find the words to respond with. Last night was one of the worst nights of my life, and I couldn’t have been more ashamed of myself. I couldn’t speak, but I could nod. 

“This conversation isn’t going to work unless you speak, Chloe.” My silence clearly frustrated her. Here she was trying to have an open conversation with me, treating me like an actual human for possibly the first time ever. “You’re not going to get in trouble for saying something you’re not supposed to, okay?”

“You promise?” My voice was shaky and terrified, not fully sure if I could trust what she was saying. 

“I promise.” 

“I don’t know how I feel Candace…” I bit my lip nervously, struggling not to fall apart where I sat. “I’m hurt… I feel violated… I feel terrified… and I feel alone…”

“I know you do… and some of that’s on purpose, but…” Candace sighed. It was clearly a big topic to start off with, but she was glad that I spoke. “I’ve done us both a great disservice by keeping you at arm's length like I have.”

“How do you mean?”

“I mean I’ve done all these things to make you hate me, and it all worked…” She once again hid her gaze from view, not wanting to meet my eyes with hers. “When I don’t really want you to hate me.”

This was evidently a very difficult conversation for Candace to have, even harder than it was for me, because she knew that everything that she was feeling was her own fault. 

“I’m not going to sidestep what I want anymore, Chloe. You belong to me and you are going to do as I tell you, and there really isn’t anything you can do about it.” She paused, trying not to let her voice crack. “But at the same time, I want to be more open with you… because I want us to be closer.”

I swallowed nervously, looking up into her eyes and nodding. “What happens now?”

“I thought hiding things up my sleeve was the best way to keep you contained… But I now realize that that was a mistake.” She paused, thinking it over. “I’m going to tell you how my security system works.”

It was a little bit shocking to hear her say, she had always kept as much information as she could secreted away from me. “Wait, what? why?”

“My hope is that if you know exactly what you’re up against… You’ll realize how futile it is to try and escape.”

“Okay…”

“Where to start…” She stopped, taking a deep breath. “Okay-”

“That collar is capable of doing a lot more than just electrocuting you. First of all, I can hear everything that happens around you, there’s a microphone built into the band. Second, the collar has needles discreetly built into it to inject sedatives into your neck when I need them to. Thirdly…” She tapped her foot, trying to find the words she wanted to say. “It can explode, at the press of a button.”

“Yeah, and?” None of this was surprising for me to hear. “This is all stuff you would do, I’m not really surprised-”

“Well would you be surprised if I told you there’s a basement?” Candace interrupted.

I paused, caught completely off guard by the idea. “Yes…”

_There’s a basement???_

“Let’s go take a walk.”

Candace made me stay put while she went to grab something from her bedroom, returning with the very same leash she led me around the house on during my first day, attaching it to my collar and giving it a firm tug, before giving me a light flick on my septum ring. 

“I trust that you won’t try to pull anything, or you’ll make your master quite upset.”

“I won’t, I promise.” I swallowed nervously, trying my best to smile at her. 

“Do as I say, and you won’t get punished alright?” Candace released the chains from my wrists, then lifted my chin with one hand, looking me straight in the eyes. “Now follow me.”

_I can do this. I can do as I’m told._ I nervously followed behind Candace, trying not to let my leash pull taut. _Don’t fuck this up. Don’t upset her. Just do what she says and don’t disobey._

“Relax, Chloe.” Candace could tell how tense I was getting, giving me a nice firm tug on my collar. “I have you right here, just to be safe.” 

Candace led me by the neck to the lounge, I quickly realized that the reason she was telling me to relax was also to try and get herself to calm down, she was clearly just as on edge as I was. I couldn’t imagine what sort of mental gymnastics she had to perform to come to the decision of telling me all of these things. The things she was about to show me were the very things she counted on to keep me from trying to escape, or even worse, attacking her again.

Candace headed straight for the corner of the room, towards the one painting that I wasn’t allowed to touch, but strangely enough, my collar wasn’t going off like it usually did when I got too close to it.

“Who is she?” I stopped, admiring the woman in the painting. I had always wondered who it was that made the painting so important to her.

“My mother.” Candace paused, unable to look at the painting for very long. “She passed away several years ago.”

“She looks beautiful.” I wrapped my hands around the chain dangling from my neck, looking up at Candace. “Is that why I’m not allowed to touch it?”  
“Not exactly.” She smiled, pulling on the chain playfully. “Watch this.”

My beautiful blonde captor slowly began running her fingers over the top of the picture frame, before stopping and seemingly reaching behind the painting itself. There was a small click, and then suddenly the whole wall seemed to swivel in place a bit, just enough to get a grip on it and pull it out fully, which Candace promptly did. 

“The stairway to the basement is hidden behind a secret door, which would be why you’re not allowed to touch the painting… In addition to it being my most valuable possession.” Candace smirked, a faint blush on her cheeks. “Aside from you, of course~”

My blush was not so faint. It shouldn’t have been so embarrassing to hear, especially considering that I was standing in the lounge completely naked.

“Come on, we’re going downstairs~” Candace pulled me to her with the leash, sending me down into the basement ahead of her, the lights turning on by themselves as we walked down.

“Now usually I wake you up at a very specific time, but I woke you up early today, so Malcolm probably isn’t awake yet.”

“Malcolm?” I stepped onto the carpeted floor of the basement, landing in a large entertainment room, with Candace following shortly behind me. “What does Malcolm being awake have to do with anything?”

“Because Malcolm lives here.” Candace stepped past me, making sure the door back up to the ground floor was locked behind us before heading into the next room. “Let’s go look at his office before he starts his work, shall we?”

“Malcolm lives here?” I followed Candace into the next room, my leash forcing me to stay at her hip. 

“He lives and works here.” Candace showed me into a room filled with monitors, very clearly a surveillance room for the entire house. “Another little secret I’ve been keeping from you~”

“What does he do?” I glanced wide-eyed at each of the monitors, realizing how stupid my question sounded. “I thought he was your personal assistant?”

“He was my personal assistant.” Candace slid the chair out from the desk, taking a seat in it and tugging on my leash. “But once I got you, I needed somebody to keep an eye on you~”

“You mean he watches me from in the basement?” It should have been obvious to me, but not knowing that the basement existed was enough to keep me from the realization.

“From every room in the house~” Candace yanked on my leash, forcing me into her lap as she showed me the setup of the surveillance system. “I’m showing you this to scare you away from doing something that will get you in trouble.”

“From every single room?” I take note of every single monitor, clinging onto the quickly fleeting hope that there was any way out of my captivity.

“Your cell, foyer, parlor, hallway, kitchen, dining room, wardrobe room, hallway, Thea and Sophia’s room~” Candace stopped to snicker at me, reminding me about how she stole my name and gave it to one of her cats. “Cat’s bathroom, gaming room, gaming bathroom, hallway, porch, closet, master bathroom… and thanks to your stunt two weeks ago, I had to install a camera in my bedroom.”

“Is that why he didn’t see it happen?” I swallowed nervously, looking up at Candace from her lap.

“Yes…” Candace rolled her eyes, gesturing towards all of the different rooms. “But that’s not the case anymore… we can see you from everywhere~”

I glance over each of the cameras one more time. “Is there a camera in the guest bedroom… attached to the foyer?”

“That’s not a room you’re allowed into, so no.” Candace smiled, still gently tugging at my leash.

“Are you going to show me what’s in there too?” I bit my lip, feeling Candace slip a couple of her fingers under my collar. 

“Unfortunately not~” Candace pulled on my collar, admiring the naked girl in her lap. “I’m afraid that’s going to have to stay a secret for another day.”

“I thought you wanted to be more open with me?” I bit my lip, looking up at her in confusion.

“I am being more open with you, I’m showing you all of this aren’t I?” Candace shook her head, gesturing to the cameras again. “The guest bedroom isn’t another dirty little secret I promise… It’s pleasant surprise for another day~”

“A pleasant surprise?” I grip the chain in both hands, not trying to take it away from Candace, but still trying to use it for support. “What kind of pleasant surprise?”

“Well… Since the point is to discourage you from exhibiting any disobedience towards me…” Candace grinned eagerly, slipping her fingers back out from under my collar. “If you’re good and learn to behave, that will eventually be your room~”

“You really think you have the chops to decorate a bedroom for me?” I scoff, giggling to myself.

“Quiet you~” Candace flicked me on my nose. “I have your precious Calliope in my garage already, don’t I?”

“You know the name of my car?” I wriggled my nose, looking up at her with a look of concern on my face. 

“I know the petname your ex-boyfriend used to call you, don’t look surprised.” Candace smiled, glancing over towards the door into the room and pausing, going very quiet. 

“Good morning, Candace~” 

_Malcolm’s awake._

“Good morning, Malcolm!!”

Malcolm yawned, stepping into the room. “You’re up early, huh?”

“I had something I needed to attend to this morning~” Candace giggled, pressing the tip of her index finger into my nose, the swivel chair still facing away from her assistant.

Malcolm leaned against the doorway, a mug of what looked like coffee but smelled like hot chocolate in his hand. “That being?”

Candace gave me an evil grin, before spinning the chair around to face Malcolm, leaving me no time to hide my body before it was exposed to her personal assistant. If this was a cartoon, he would have dropped his mug onto the floor in shock.

“Good morning, Malcolm…” I blushed, waving at him.

“Ah, ah, ah!!” Candace quickly scolded me. “Ma’ams and Sirs only, show respect.”

I bit my lip nervously, quickly amending my greeting. “Good morning, Sir.”

“Good morning, Chloe~” He brought his mug to his lips, looking over my completely naked body. 

I blushed, trying to hide my tits behind my arms and crossing my legs. “He’s already seen you naked, Chloe.” Candace evidently didn’t like seeing me trying to hide my naked body, if only because it meant that she couldn’t see my tits herself.  
“Don’t worry honey, I’m not into girls~” Malcolm winked at me, giving me a friendly smile. “So what’s the meaning of this, Can?”

“I thought I’d change my tactics… I’m showing Chloe the types of defenses I have in place." Candace smiled at him, wrapping her arm around my waist and gently holding me. “To try and teach her how futile it is to try and escape… in the hopes that she’ll realize that she needs to give up~”

“And how’s that going for you?” Malcolm’s grin was just as smug as Candace’s.

“I think she’s beginning to get it~” Candace smiled at me, running her fingers along my hip. “Aren’t you, Chloe?”

“Yes, Ma’am…” I bite my lip, casting my gaze down to the floor in shame.

She was right, I really was beginning to think that escaping from here was literally impossible, but strangely enough, there was some comfort in that. Maybe I really should just give up, it would make things a whole lot easier for me, and maybe my life would get a lot better from there. 

We came back upstairs after a while, with Candace closing the secret door behind us. I stepped away from the painting, looking it over again. In retrospect, Candace’s mother looked a lot like her, with her platinum blonde hair and strange red eyes. 

“Why are your eyes red, Candace?” I couldn’t stop the words from leaving my mouth, but almost instantly regretted saying it after I had done so. 

“First of all, only one of my eyes is red.” She pointed at her left eye before moving on to pointing at her right eye. “My right eye is actually blue.”

I crossed my arms, waiting for her to answer my question. 

“Like I said last night, I inherited albinism from my mother.” Candace admired the painting of her mom, smiling happily. “But just one of my eyes ended up with the red tint.”

“And that boy in the painting with her-” I stepped towards her, pointing out the young boy in the woman’s arms. I wasn’t sure who he was, but he also had that same red tint in his left eye that Candace and her mother had. “Who is he?”

Candace paused, trying to find the words to answer with. “He’s… not somebody I really want to talk about right now…”

I paused, unsure if I should press the issue any further. “Don’t want to open up about that either?” 

“No, not really…” Candace sighed. “Come on.”

  
Candace led me to the gaming room, stopping outside the door and pressing her finger to her bracelet, waiting for the door to swing open on its own. “Inside, sweetie.”

I stepped inside, waiting for Candace to follow me in before I could sit down on the couch. 

“As you can see, I can open, close, lock, and unlock each and every door from my bracelet~” Candace gestured for me to sit, getting quite annoyed at me when I sat down in the wrong spot. “You are a slave. Sit on the floor, like a slave.” She scoffed at me. “It’s not difficult.”

“It is for me!!” I shouted back at her, before quickly recoiling away, standing up from the couch and setting myself down on the floor. “It’s difficult for me…”

Candace took a deep breath, gently letting out slack in my leash. “You’re not in trouble, Chloe. I told you that you wouldn’t get in trouble as long as you do as I say, and I meant it.”

“I know how to be your maid, but…” My face turned red, and I wasn’t sure if it did so out of anger or out of embarrassment. “I don’t know how to be your slave.”

“You were never trained to be such…” Candace sighed, giving me a gentle tug on my leash to pull me to her feet. “Another shortcoming on my part… for keeping you at arm’s length like I have, and never teaching you.”

Candace clearly expected this open conversation to be less one-sided, but I was struggling to find anything that I wanted to say to her. Any complaint I could make was ultimately going to be shut down, because Candace was going to get what she wanted. 

“What did you expect to accomplish from having this conversation…” I curled up, pulling my knees to my chest, not wanting to look at her. “Some sort of demented bonding exercise?”

“There was something different about you after you woke up from your surgery.” Unlike me however, Candace had words to say, and she knew how to say them. “Now I know that you weren’t in your right mind, but I’m sure that what I saw from you came from somewhere.”

I paused, shuddering at the memories from the previous night, remembering everything that I said to her. “I had been drugged-”

“You flirted with me in the car. You begged to sleep in my bed. You called me Master… You trusted me.” Candace began wrapping my leash around her hand, situating me on the floor in front of the couch, right next to her foot. “Even if you were drugged, there’s something there, Chloe.”

“Whatever you saw, it’s not real!!” I turned to face her, crying out in anger. I knew she was right, but I didn’t want her to be.

“There’s something between us, Chloe. But you have this shield you put up. You and I both know it’s there, and you’re hiding behind it.” Candace lifted one foot, kicking me in the forehead gently, making a point of batting at my thick skull. “Last night you got that shield torn away from you, and you let yourself go… if you would just drop your shield and give in to those desires, there would be something more between us than just master and maid.”

“But I-” I swallowed nervously. _She’s right… why is she always right… why can’t I do this…_

“I **can’t** read your thoughts Chloe… I know there’s something more going on in that head of yours that I don’t get to see. That’s why I want to have this conversation.” Candace took her foot and slid her big toe under my collar, pulling me back to her. 

“I order you to drop those shields you’re hiding behind and speak your mind to me… tell me what you want, what you’re thinking, what you’re feel-”

“You’re right.” I cut her off before she could finish, looking up at her, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. “I hate that you’re always right.”

She smiled eagerly. “And what else do you hate?”

“I hate you…” I reached up, my cheeks pink as I wiped the tears away.

“And do you think that hating me is going to get you anywhere?” Candace’s voice was calm and peaceful as she spoke. “It’s not going to.”

“I know it’s not, I just-” I shook my head. “I don’t know what else to think.”

“Only you know what you think, Chloe.” She tugged on the leash. “Now out with it…”  
  


“I…” I bit my lip, thoroughly ashamed of what I was about to say. “I’m in love with you… Candace.”

“Continue~” Candace smiled, nodding for me to keep talking. 

“You… You’re a monster, a-and I hate what you’ve done to me… I started at just doing as I was told to keep myself from getting hurt, but now I- I do what I’m told to make you happy” I hung my head in shame, looking down at the ground. “I can’t stop thinking about you… a-and it’s disgusting!! You did this to me!!! You’ve fucked with my head, and now all I can think about is you!!”

“That’s not such a bad thing, now is it?” Candace hummed to herself, the words coming out of my mouth being like music to her ears.

“I feel like it should be, but I don’t know anymore.” I took a deep breath, ashamed that even Candace’s humming made me happy. “You don’t have to worry about me attacking you again… Because-”

“Because of what, exactly?” Candace lifted my head up with her foot, forcing me to look in her eyes as I talked.

“Because I could have killed you last time and I didn’t-” I choked on my words, gazing up into her beautiful mismatched eyes. “I couldn’t… because I love you… because you’ve broken me…”  
“Submission. What you’re feeling is called submission.” Candace was blushing, a happy smile painted onto her glossy lips. “You’ve grown submissive.”

_You’ve lost your edge, Chloe. She’s right. Tell her she’s right._

“You’re right.” I paused, my words caught on the lump in my throat. “You’re right, and I know you’re right…”

“When you first got here, you were a stubborn little punk rock asshole… but you’ve grown submissive~” Candace gloated, basking in the feeling of being right. “Have you ever been submissive before?”  
“No.” I shook my head, thinking back to my last relationship. “The opposite, actually.”

“You would do good to admit it to yourself.” Candace gently reached down, running her fingers through my orange hair. “You do as you’re told because my happiness is your happiness. You yield to my authority because that’s what feels right. You obey my orders because that’s what submissives do. There isn’t anything wrong or unnatural about that… There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” 

I tilted my head, leaning directly into her hand, wordlessly pressing my forehead against her palm.

“You’re submissive to **me**.” Candace rewarded my nuzzles by gently petting my head. “Which is what we both want, isn’t it?”

“Yes-” My cheeks glowed bright red, still ashamed to be admitting it. “I know that it’s hopeless. I know that there’s no escape. This is just…”

“The hardest thing you’ll ever have to do.” Candace finished my sentiment for me. “You’re like me. You never give up…Even when you know it’s impossible.”

I shook my head, tears welling up in my eyes again. “Never…”

“Sophia Cavalier would never give up… but Chloe will.” Candace’s hand pulled away from my head, trailing down to my collar and firmly grabbing a hold of it. “You’re going to give up… because I’m telling you to give up~”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I bit my lip, tears beginning to stream down my cheeks. “I give up.”

“Good girl.” Candace lifted my chin up to look at her, watching her as she pulled a small metal device out of her pocket, squeezing it in her hand.

**_Click!_ **

I stared up at the device, astonished to realize what it was for. I may not have ever owned a dog, but I knew exactly what that sound was and what it was used for. _Clicker training._

“I- I’m not a dog…”

“You are whatever I say you are.” Candace slowly let go of my collar, shaking her head at me. “If I say that you’re a dog… Then you’re a dog~”

I bit my lip, my face turning pink in embarrassment. “But why the clicker?”  
“I’m changing my approach, remember?” Candace twirled the clicker in her hand by its wrist strap. “No more keeping you at arm’s length, no more negative reinforcement… We’re going to try positive reinforcement~”

“Positive reinforcement?” I paused, missing the feeling of her hand on my head. “How?”

“Simple. I’m going to give you orders, and if you fulfill them to my satisfaction, in addition to getting to hear this lovely little clicker go off… you’ll get a little buzz~” 

“A buzz?” I furled my eyebrows, looking up at her in disbelief. 

“Like so~” Candace cut off any train of thought I might have had by pressing the button again, and as she did so, the collar around my neck began to vibrate.

_Damn it, you’re good~_

“Unfortunately, that will be all the fun we have time for right now. We seem to have gotten sidetracked.” Candace crossed her legs. “Back to the topic at hand.”

“What were we talking about?” I nervously bit my lip, my train of thought getting lost with the vibrating collar.

“Your submission. How you belong to me, why trying to escape is futile, and what will happen to us both if you don’t learn your place…” Candace paused, trying to keep herself calm. “Since we’re talking openly… I think it’s important for you to know that my father doesn’t like you.”

“Your father?” I hadn’t thought about Candace’s father, she never usually mentioned him. Evidently there was a reason for that.

“My father hates you, Chloe. He has disapproved of my decision to claim you since even before I went through with it.” Candace scoffed. “You aren’t like Liz, you didn’t come to me through the facility… You’ve had all of the physical modifications that a facility girl has had, but you haven’t been trained.” 

_Lucky me._

“If this doesn’t start working out soon… I will have no choice but to send you to the facility.” Candace’s face turned stern, not wanting to entertain the thought of it. “My father will give me no choice but to send you to the facility.”

“What’s the facility?” My heart began to ache, not wanting to think of the kinds of things that might happen to me there. “Is that bad? What will happen to me there?”

“You will be trained, taught how to be a proper slave.” Candace was choking on her words, there was clearly something she wasn’t telling me. 

“What’s wrong with that? What will they do to me?” I could barely keep myself from climbing into her lap, settling on grabbing a hold of her leg, looking up at her from the floor below.

“Like I said, you’ve had all of the physical modifications that any other facility girl would have.” She reached down, grabbing a hold of the tag on my ear. “You have your tag, you have electric implants in your arms, you even have a tracking chip embedded in your ass~”

“But what, Candace?!” I shouted. “You said you were going to tell me everything-”

“If you go to the facility, you’ll have to have your brands burned over!!!”

I froze. _My brands?_ It never occurred to me that Candace would ever want to have my brands replaced or covered. 

She branded me with her initials, as a sign of her ownership.

“...Why would my brands be a problem?” The thought of having my brands burned over was enough to quickly bring me to tears. 

And I could see that it was enough to bring Candace to tears as well, tears rolling down her cheeks harder than I’d ever seen them. 

“Because if I have to send you to the facility, you won’t be coming back to me…”

_No…_

“I won’t have a choice. I’ve fucked this all up from the beginning.” She struggled to choke back her tears. “If I can’t get my father to approve of us… you’ll get taken to the facility, trained, and sold off to someone else…”

I bit my lip, my throat bubbling with rage. “Isn’t there some other way… can’t you come up with an alternative-”

“That **is** the alternative, Chloe…” Candace wiped the tears from her eyes, slowly settling down.

I wasn’t even sure that I wanted an answer to the question I was about to ask. “Alternative to what?”

“Doing what they did to my mother.” Candace reached down, wiping the tears from my eyes as well. “Having you euthanized…”

I climbed into her arms, unable to sit still anymore. Leaving my place on the floor and joining Candace on the couch was an act of disobedience, but it was one she was willing to let slide. Allowing me to sit in her lap, holding onto me as tight as she could. “I can’t let that happen to you, Chloe.” She stroked my hair, letting my cry into her shoulder like I had the previous night. “I’d be happier knowing that you belonged to someone else… instead of knowing that I was the reason you were put down.”

“ **But I belong to you!!!** ” 

It was humiliating saying it out loud, but it was true. No matter what I said, I belonged to Candace Alecia Emmilise Saint Clair, and there was no one in the world I’d rather submit to.

_Admit it, Chloe. You know you want this._

“I know I haven’t been perfect…” 

_Why can’t you just give in? Why can’t I just give in?_

“B-but I’m trying my best…”

_Stop lying to yourself. Stop lying to her._

“I- I’ve been troublesome-”

_You know what she wants to hear. Tell her what she wants to hear._

“But, I…”

_Submit to her._

“This is my fault, not yours. I need to do better… And I’m going to do better.” I pried myself from her chest, working up the strength to look her in the eyes. “I’ve been stupid. Stubborn. Arrogant. Selfish. Disobedient. Mean. Violent. Rude. Disrespectful. Immature. Disruptive. Unruly. Hostile. Defiant. I’ve done everything wrong.”

Candace quickly composed herself, looking me in the eyes and nodding.

“That changes now.” I held my breath, ready to finally prove myself ready for whatever Candace has planned for me. “Let me be your handmaiden.”

“My handmaiden?” Candace paused, thinking it over. “Do you believe that you deserve such a title?”

“No, I don’t.” I bowed my head, looking down at her lap. “But I would like the chance to earn it, please.”

“You’ve told me so many times that you were going to do better.” Candace stood up, staring down at me from in front of the large wall monitor. “What’s different this time?”

“I’m not doing it for me this time.” Following her lead, I removed myself from the couch, kneeling at her feet. “I’m doing this for you.”

“And what are you going to do for me?” Candace extended her right leg forward, placing it in front of me expectantly.

“Everything. Everything I do from now on, it will all be for you.” I took Candace’s foot in my hand, gently kissing her soft skin. “I will submit to you.”

“Do you think that will be enough?” Candace crossed her hands behind her back, looking down at me from above.

“No. My submission is worthless without your hand to guide me.” I reached up, holding out a hand for hers. “I’m nothing before you.”

“Very well…” She extended her hand, letting me take a hold of it. “I will train you to become my handmaiden.”

“Thank you, Candace.” I gently placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand, bowing my head in submission. “Master.”

“It would seem that we’ve come to an agreement, then.” Candace pulled her hand away, holding both hands behind her back. “Our open conversation has concluded.”

“Of course~” Candace couldn’t tell, but she had succeeded in scaring me away from disobeying, just not in the way that she expected. “What now, Miss?”

“Cast your gaze downwards unless directed, speak only when spoken to, and be sure to address me with respect at all times.” Candace smiled eagerly, ready to give her slave another chance. “Once you’ve gotten the basics down, we will move on to your first proper lesson~”

“Yes Ma’am… Thank you~” I smiled happily, gazing down at the floor.

“Good girl.” Candace smiled, pulling the clicker from her pocket. 

**_Click!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean I'm supposed to be on hiatus?


	11. Sink or Swim

“I am going to recite to you, verbatim, the tenets of your new existence.” Candace stood over her kneeling slave, looking down from above. “Take notes Chloe, because I expect you to memorize these~”

“One. Know your place. You have a role to play. You have a purpose, and it is important that you know what that purpose is. As a slave, your purpose is whatever your master says that it is, no matter how big or small. Recognize that you are below your master, and remember your place and purpose.”

“Two. Know your master. You have a master, and you need to know who your master is. You belong to them, and that puts them above all others. They are the center of your world. Know what they need, know what they want, know how to serve them. Their happiness is what is most important.”

“Three. Show respect. You are a slave, not a person. All others are above you and they deserve to be respected. Put yourself below all others, but show respect to your master first and foremost. As a slave, your master is above all others, and you are below all others.”

“Four. Do as you are told. Obey your master at all times. When your master tells you to do something, you are to do it. No matter what they tell you to do, you are to follow your master’s directions.”

“Five. Do not fight back. Your master deserves your full respect and cooperation. Do not disobey orders. Do not talk back. Do not disagree with them. Your master is the only thing that matters, and you are not to fight back.”

“Six. Act out of love, not out of fear. Your master has the right to do whatever they want to you, and you need to accept that. Always be sure that you are acting out of your love for your master, and not out of fear of what they will do to you. Always show your master that you love them, and that their happiness is your priority.”

“Seven. Identify with your master. As a slave, you are not an individual, you are a possession. Identify as your master’s slave, rather than identifying as your own person. Let yourself be viewed as your master’s slave, and nothing more. Be an extension of them, let them make your decisions, let them fulfill your needs, let them do your thinking for you.”

“Eight. Be vulnerable. Make life as pleasant as possible for your master. Open yourself up to them, trust them. Show your master that you are vulnerable to them. Show them that you are powerless. Let them touch you, let them hurt you, let them humiliate you.”

“Nine. Be adaptable. Learn from your mistakes. Show your master that you will bend to their will. Be open to anything and everything your master says, even if it goes against what you want. Your master’s desires will change, and you must change to suit their desires.”

“Ten. Strive for perfection. Don’t just do as you’re told, make your master proud. Do everything in your power to be more than what your master expects and demands from you, even if they don’t notice. The little things that you do for your master will mean a lot to them. Strive to be the best slave your master could wish for.”

“These ten principles are taught to all who enter through the facility, and no slave comes out before they have memorized them all. Though they are not quite rules per say, they are essentially guidelines for how you, Chloe, as well as all other slaves, are to conduct your life.”

It was a lot to take in, but I didn’t have a choice. Candace was my master now, and if I was going to become her handmaiden I needed to learn to live how Candace wanted me to live. Candace wanted me to memorize this list of guidelines, and I was going to do it.

“I won’t make you repeat them back to me immediately, but I will be having you try to repeat them every day before and after you sleep. Any questions?”

“None yet, Ma’am.” I swallowed nervously, looking up at her from the parlor floor, watching her sit herself in her chair. “What are we doing now?”

“Now we’re going to practice basic etiquette, you’re being trained remember?” Candace crossed her legs, thoroughly looking me over. “What comes to your mind when I mention basic etiquette, slave?”

“...rules?” I bit my lip, answering questions as I was required, but having little confidence that my answer was the correct one. 

“In a way, yes… but they do fall more into guidelines as well~” Candace grinned eagerly. “I’ll tell you what I expect from your etiquette, and if I see you forgetting any of them, I will lash you, and you will graciously accept your punishment, understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am…” My voice quivered nervously.  
“You’re doing this for me, remember~” She sighed happily, gesturing for me to stand up. “Go get me a drink, and then we’ll begin.”

I didn’t realize it until I got back, but Candace was sending me to the kitchen to make an example of me, to critique my performance. She took the glass of tea with one hand, gripping the clicker in her other hand. “Here you are~”

Candace didn’t say thank you, but she didn’t need to, I shouldn’t expect her to. I should do as I’m told without expecting praise or commendation in return, even though I really wanted some. 

She held the clicker up so that I could see it, her thumb on the button. “Your etiquette needs some work, Chloe… though I have seen worse. You did as you were told, and that’s step one.”

**_Click!!_ **

“However, you will need to learn to hold your tongue, I expect you to speak **only** when spoken to, or with explicit permission, which you did not have… apologize.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am…”

“There’s the respect I’ve been looking for, you forgot that too when you were speaking out of line, I expect to hear you address me with a title… apologize, and do it properly.”

“I’m sorry again, Ma’am.” I looked down at the floor, not wanting to see the disappointment in her eyes. _I thought I was doing well…_

**_Click!!_ **

My heart fluttered with excitement, hearing her press the button on the clicker. 

“Just like that, cast your gaze downwards when it’s not needed… You wouldn’t want to accidentally make eye contact with an **actual** person, would you?” Candace giggled to herself. “And don’t look so glum, it’s a learning experience… not a lot of girls get to be trained directly by their **master** , Chloe. You should feel honored.”

I let out a sigh of relief, unable to help myself from smiling. “I am honored, Master… thank you…”

“Worry not, you’ll learn. But I need to see that you’re putting the work in.” Candace fiddled with her bracelet and then pointed down the hallway, towards her bedroom door. “Now go fetch me the implement of your demise, the chest should be open.”

I hesitated, wanting to make sure I got everything right this time. _I’m being spoken to, right? That means I can ask questions can’t I? Speak when spoken to?_ I caught myself just before I tilted my head up to look at her, not sure whether or not I was supposed to look up when I spoke. _This is a lot harder than I expected, or am I just making this more complicated for myself? Am I overthinking this? Oh, I don’t know what to think._

Candace brought the glass of tea up to her lips, tilting her head at me in confusion. She obviously wanted me to have been gone by the time she finished taking a drink. “Is there a problem, Chloe?” The mistress didn’t want to assume that her slave was being disobedient, it seemed quite unlikely after the type of morning they had. “You do understand that time is of the essence don’t you? You aren’t being disobedient are you?”

“No Ma’am, I’m not. I’m just… nervous. I want to get this perfectly right.”

“No slave gets things perfectly right on their first try, Chloe.”

“I’ve been working for you for months, I should be able to do this…”

“But you haven’t yet been properly trained, that’s what all of this is for.”

“I know, Miss… but if I don’t get this right, you’ll hit me.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Candace sighed, taking another sip from her glass of tea. “But that’s not your place to worry about is it, slave?”

I paused, seriously trying not to overthink it, but failing drastically. “...no?”

“You shouldn’t be acting out of fear of punishment should you?” Candace held the empty glass of tea out for me to take from her. “You should be acting out of love… do your best to make me happy, and if you get punished for making a mistake, you get punished… but it’s really not your place to worry about. Worry about making me happy, and if you make a mistake, accept your punishment… and be happy about it, it means you won’t repeat your mistakes.”

Again, it was a lot to take in, all of the numerous tenets seemed to mix and tangle together all at once, and I was terrible at not overcomplicating things. But I took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of Candace’s breath on the empty glass she had handed off to me, and thought to myself how exactly I could make her happy. “Which implement would you like, Master?”

“Something to lash you with.” Candace wiped her hands free of the wet residue from the glass, examining her nails to make sure the colors hadn’t faded. 

I swallowed nervously, knowing very well that she planned on doing just that when I returned. “And would you like another drink, Master?”

“I don’t really care, now go.” Candace shooed me away with her hand.

I quickly complied, setting the empty glass in the kitchen sink before heading straight into the master bedroom, opening the large black chest beside the metal hatch in the corner of the room. 

It was full of all sorts of terrible tools and implements, restraints, toys, paddles, crops, chains, but Candace wanted something to lash me with. I wanted something that wouldn’t sting too badly, but what I wanted didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered right now was her. _Something that’s fun for her…_

I dug through the array of lashes and made my choice, cracking the long charcoal whip in my hands, swallowing nervously at the thought of finding myself on the receiving end of it. _For her…_

I closed the chest, exited back into the hallway, and made sure that her bedroom light was off. She might have been rich, but I didn’t want her electricity bill to run too high. Then I was off, back to the parlor. 

Or, maybe not- _She said she didn’t care, but…_ I stopped, glancing down the hallway back to the kitchen, wondering whether I really should fetch her a refill. _Don’t_ **_just_ ** _do as you’re told…_

It may have been an unnecessary detour, but I fetched my master a second glass of tea, holding it in both hands to ensure that it didn’t spill, the whip slung over one of my forearms, as balanced as I could make it. This time I didn’t forget my manners, I didn’t speak, I didn’t look up, I just presented my offerings to Candace. 

She looked over both the glass and the whip, she wasn’t exactly surprised… she actually seemed like she wasn’t sure whether she was surprised, she didn’t know what to expect, but she seemed pleased with the offerings. 

Taking her whip into her hands, she smirked mischievously at me, and then I realized that this was another test. “Turn around, present your back~”

I took a deep breath, hearing the ice cubes rattle against the glass, still in my hands as I turned to face the opposite direction. She was going to see whether I would actually graciously accept a lashing like I was supposed to. For just a moment I wasn’t sure whether or not I could do it, I didn’t want to know what being whipped felt like… but I was about to find out… and I was going to be happy about it. “Yes, Master.”

Normally the feeling of the cold glass in my hands would have been the most unpleasant sensation I’d have to endure, but I wasn’t going to have to worry about that for long. She didn’t expect me to be able to keep a hold of the full glass of tea for the duration of my lashing, and I didn’t either. I didn’t need to get her a refill, going without it would have been the easy thing to do, setting it down would have been the easy thing to do, but I wasn’t supposed to do the easy thing, I was supposed to do whatever made Candace happy. _Whatever happens, happens. I can do this._

It was like a thousand slaps to the face, all at once. My bare skin burned with each subsequent snap of the whip. But it didn’t burn quite like my brands had. _My brands…_

I felt the cold chill leave my hands, my entire body on fire. I knew better than to expect myself to hold onto the glass without it slipping away, but I had done my best. 

**_Crack!!_ **Bullseye. A single snap of the whip landed it directly onto my brand, just above my tailbone. It stung worse than it ever had before, sending all the pain that I’d experienced receiving my brands coursing through my body all over again. 

I held onto that, clinging to the pain of my brand for support, pulling it in close. That brand was going to get me through this beating, that brand was going to get me through this training, that brand was going to keep me from being torn away from the woman I loved, I couldn’t let it get taken from me, I wasn’t going to let that happen. The cold sting in my hands and burning heat in my skin was nothing compared to the scorching chill of being branded as Candace’s property, her slave. 

_This one is mine._ She had written her name on me, and that’s how you knew I belonged to her. _It has my name on it. That means it’s mine._

I desperately gasped for breath once it was over, the glass hadn’t shattered, but it did spill the entirety of its contents onto the floor. I stopped, trying to figure out what she would want me to do now, kneeling on the floor in front of her and not looking up. 

“Somebody has to be to blame for spilling tea all over my floor, do you know who that might be?”

“It’s me, Ma’am… I’m to blame.”

“Right answer, now clean it.” 

_Test passed._ Cleaning was nothing to me now, I wiped Candace’s floors for a living now, despite not getting paid for it. “Would you like me to clean it with my mouth or with a mop?”

Candace paused for a moment, taken aback by my sudden eagerness to serve her with my mouth. “Let’s not get the mop all dirty just for this~”

Leaving the cleaning supplies in the closet, I licked the tea off the floor with just my tongue. It wasn’t too bad, I cleaned this floor twice a day, making sure it was always spotless. The only thing that I could think of that had touched this floor were Candace’s feet, and I didn’t much mind the thought of Candace’s feet in my mouth. But clearly I was forgetting something, because after a minute or so, my tongue started tingling. 

“Right, Sophia.” Candace shook her head, noticing that my tongue had started bothering me.

I froze in place as soon as I heard that name, barely able to keep myself from looking up at her. Hearing that name still got to me, it bothered me more than anything else did.

“Not you, Chloe. **Sophia**.” She paused, sighing to herself. “She’s been shedding. Getting cat hair all over the floor. On your tongue. I swear, Thea never shed, but she had been getting hair all over the place.”

“Right. I forgot…” I bowed my head, still not looking up at her. “Sorry, Ma’am.”

“It’s alright, doll.” Candace retrieved the clicker device from her pocket, pressing down on the button.

**_Click!!_ **

“That’s for getting it right this time, good girl.” Candace stood, holding the clicker out to me. “This device will be your lifeline~”

“My lifeline?” I swallowed nervously. 

“It’s August now, so I’m going to give you until the first of September.” 

_It’s August already??_ I had no idea what month it was even, the many weeks since I’d arrived here had melded together. “First of September for what, Ma’am?”

“To earn one hundred clicks~”

“One hundred??? How am I supposed to get one hundred of them???” 

“By performing **exceptionally** as a slave, and **earning** them.”

“Well what day is it now?” I could count, I had thirty one days at most, but without knowing the exact date, I had no idea what sort of time crunch I’d be on. “How long do I have?”

“The little number crunching gamer brain you’ve got there is so cute, but I can’t tell you that, Chloe.”

“Why not?”

“Because that would be cheating, it’s disingenuous. I want you on your best behavior at all times, not trying to count how many clicks you need each day before the deadline.”

“But what happens if I don’t make the deadline?”

“I can’t tell you that, either~”

“Candace, please!!”

“...What was that?”

“I-” I stopped, amending myself and bowing my head. “Please, Master.”

“Chloe… As you have seen, I’m not close-fisted when it comes to awarding you for good behavior. I will of course count the ones you’ve already received towards your total, you’ve gotten five today, and you didn’t even know that you needed them. But you got those because you were on your best behavior… I want all of them to be like that.”

“So all I need is to do as I’m told and not misbehave?” 

“Not quite… Yes, that will get you part of the way there, but I need more from you than just that. I need exceptional behavior.”

“So… Make you happy?”

“Make me happy~”

“Yes, Master.” 

Candace smiled, giving me a wink as she pressed the button again. 

**_Click!!_ **

“Follow me, let’s take a walk.”

↞✶↠

Candace opened up the door into the large wardrobe room, stepping into the large space filled with a terrifying array of clothes. “What’s your favorite color, slave?”

“Red.” I said, biting my lip nervously. “Just like your eye, Master.”  
Candace chuckled to herself, shaking her head at my silly attempt at flattery. “Yes, well… My favorite color is blue, so you’ll be wearing blue.”

“Fair enough, Ma’am.” I giggled. “What will I be wearing, exactly?”

Rather than answering, Candace just took a pair of very skimpy looking blue garments from one of the many many rows of disorganized clothes, able to find exactly what she was looking for in just a few moments. “This~”

I couldn’t tell what it was at first, but once I took a look at them my heart skipped a beat. I just stood there like an idiot, blinking at it. “What… what is this, Master?”

I knew that it was a stupid question, but I still couldn’t believe it. “What does it look like?”

“It looks like-” I swallowed, holding it to my chest. “A bathing suit… Ma’am.”

“That’s because it **is** a bathing suit.” Candace began looking for a bathing suit for herself. “Now put it on~”

“Wh-what for, Ma’am?” I couldn’t stop myself, I had to look up at her. 

“So that we can go swimming.” Candace furled her eyebrows at me, and in a moment I felt my gaze instinctively staring back down at the floor. 

“I promised to take you swimming, someday… In celebration of your newfound devotion to me, that **someday...** is today.” 

“Today?” I paused, clutching onto the clothes as hard as I could, beginning to put them on right then and there as I was told. 

“It’s August…Soon, it’ll be too cold to go swimming, and we’ll have to wait until next year… but don’t worry, even if it’s already cooling down, my pool is heated.” Candace grabbed a one piece red bathing suit for herself, winking at me as we made eye contact. “I’ll have to change in private, I’m afraid. Go wait for me in the kitchen~”

There was a glass of iced tea waiting for Candace by the time she’d gotten to the kitchen, as well as a slave kneeling on the floor next to the table instead of sitting in one of the seats, my eyes looking down at the ground, at her beautiful pedicured feet. 

**_Click!!_ **

The collar vibrated against my throat everytime she pressed that button. It shouldn’t have felt so wonderful, but it always did. I couldn’t get enough of the metal buzzing against my skin, but I especially loved knowing that I was making her happy, that she was proud of me. 

“Very good, Chloe.” She picked up the glass, taking a sip of it before fidgeting with her bracelet ever so slightly, causing the light on my collar to slowly begin blinking blue as she unlocked and opened the sliding glass door out of the dining room, beckoning for me to follow her. “Don’t worry, your collar is waterproof.”

“Must we swim in the pool Ma’am?” I stepped onto the porch outside, looking out over the ocean towards the horizon. “Can’t we go out there?”

“Baby steps, Chloe. We’ll get there someday, but that someday will have to wait~” 

“Right… Yes, Master.” I was going to follow her to the end of the earth. Her eyes were more beautiful than any ocean, blazing brighter than any sunset. But still a part of me just wanted to dive headfirst into those endless blue depths and swim away forever. I’d dreamed of that sea ever since I first laid my eyes on it, but now I had someone I wanted to bring with me. “Someday…” 

_The doghouse!!_ I’d almost forgotten about the doghouse, it was like a little bit of playground equipment just for me. I was a pretty outdoorsy person, despite being an avid video gamer, I always needed a break, I was allergic to dust after all. Hopefully now that Candace and I were growing closer, I’d get to use the doghouse more often. 

“Arf!!” I barked, immediately clasping my hands over my mouth. _Wait. Does that count as talking? Am I allowed to do that?_

I know I’m not a literal dog, but I like dogs!! I thought it would be cute… and I did begrudgingly enjoy the rare occasion when Candace called me her dog… and treated me like her dog. _Wow, maybe I am a dog._

Candace, thankfully, also thought it was cute, almost doubling over herself giggling at me. “I thought you said you weren’t a dog? What are you going to do, pup? Doggy paddle?”

“I just saw the doghouse and thought it would be cute, okay!!” I pouted, crossing my arms and glancing away from both her and the doghouse. 

“Well it was cute!! And it was pathetic, just how I like you~” Candace stood at the edge of the pool, tying her hair back behind her head. “Now get in the water.”

I stood on the edge of the pool looking down, glancing at my reflection in the still surface. I couldn’t believe how much I had changed. I had become a completely different person, for better or for worse. 

“That’s an **ORDER!!** ” I felt Candace’s hands on my back, bracing myself for the cold chill of the water as she forcefully shoved me over the edge and into the water. The cold embrace that I was waiting for never came however, as Candace’s pool really was heated, just like a warm bath. 

It was a wonder how the pool kept clean. Candace never seemed to drain or cover it, but it was completely spotless inside. She had me to clean the inside of her house, but she never made me clean out her pool. She never **let** me clean out her pool, she must hire someone to do that for her. The idea of her hiring someone else to clean for her made me… jealous. _That’s_ **_my_ ** _job…_

Candace sat on the edge of the pool with her legs in the water, admiring me resurface. I was glad to have her watching over me, she was more gorgeous than any lifeguard.

I nervously swam to her. “Permission to court you, Ma’am?”

“ **Court** me?” She pinched her legs closed, chuckling at my words in disbelief. “We are **not** equals, there is no **courting** to be done, you haven’t received permission to **speak** to me.”

I recoiled in place, my gaze drifting down to my own feet floating in the pool, until a moment later I felt her fingers on my skin, she didn’t hit me, she was just lifting my gaze up to meet her by my chin. “Less talk. Less speaking out of line. More service. More submission… More swimming around and looking pretty~”

I smiled, pushing myself away from the wall and back into the water. How was I supposed to make myself look pretty while swimming, I was a dog, dog’s aren’t the most elegant of swimmers. I looked very silly, and I guess it was kind of cute.

“Go ahead, do your doggy paddle for me, girl~” She smiled, splashing water at me with her foot. I did as I was told, doggy paddling my way back to her like an obedient lap dog. 

Her legs were perfectly smooth, cutting through the water like a knife. I was a short little goofball, but the shape of her body was perfect, her curves were beautiful, exquisite. 

I couldn’t help it, her body was worthy of worship.

“Why don’t we just swim naked, Ma’am?” I smiled, holding her delicate soft foot in my hands. “Wouldn’t you like that?” Candace had seen me naked countless times, I had spent much of the last few weeks completely naked, but I had never seen her naked, and I wanted to. I needed to know what she looked like beneath her clothes, beneath that gorgeous red bathing suit. 

Without answering, she slipped into the water, quickly sinking beneath me, her ponytail of platinum blonde albino hair floating behind her. 

“If I wanted you naked, I wouldn’t have had you put on that pretty little bikini~” She surfaced, splashing me from behind. 

I turned towards her, swimming towards my master. Wanting to climb all over her, to ravage her like a wolf. No. To be ravaged by her, to be her dog. Following her obediently through the rippling waves as she slowly paddled through the water. She needed no leash to pull me around, I was going to follow her to the horizon and back. 

And so we swam, it had been a terrible and wonderful day, but there was nowhere I would have rather been than there with her, swimming beneath the light of the sunset, gazing longingly into the light of her eyes. The deep blue ocean in her eyes, that was what I wanted, not freedom, just her. 

Candace climbed out first, sitting down at one of the poolside chairs and slowly wringing water out of her hair, gazing over at the sunset. I, like a precious little lap dog, followed shortly thereafter, kneeling beside her and leaning into one of her legs. 

“Is there a reason you so desperately want to see me naked, slave?” Candace undid the ponytail, letting her hair drip dry. “I thought you were cock obsessed, are you so deprived of material to masturbate to in that little cell of yours?”

 _How am I supposed to respond to that?_ My brain continued to overcomplicate things, I’d have to teach myself how to shut myself down. “No, Ma’am.”

“You aren’t a virgin, I assume.” 

_What was that supposed to mean?_

“Granted, I have seen your search history… yikes… but at least I know that little quim of yours has gotten some use.” She turned to me, snapping her fingers for me to look up at her. “I will also grant that I myself got to use that plump little body of yours just a couple weeks ago~”

My heart sank. My surgery had only been a day ago, and the thought of what happened two weeks ago was still a sore gash in my memory. She was the only thing on my mind now, but two weeks ago the only thing on my mind was how fiercely I was willing to protect my dignity, I wasn’t going to let her spay me. I didn’t want her to touch me, I fought, I almost killed her. Getting so close to killing her was what made me realize I could no longer live without her. 

She’d gotten her way, she always gets her way, she deserved to. But I had fought to try and stop that. I would have gotten to see her naked two weeks ago if I hadn’t pulled what I did. But we wouldn’t be where we are right now if I hadn’t done that. I lashed out and tried to stop her from touching me, so she knocked me unconscious and raped me. 

She raped me. Yes, of course I had had sex before, but I never been raped, never been violated like she had violated me. 

_...What the fuck am I doing?_ My stomach churned with disgust, how could I turn myself over to a monster like her. She was a mafioso, a kidnapper, a human trafficker, and a rapist. _I can’t be with her… Can I?_

Candace continued, unable to hear the thoughts in my head, which would have inevitably gotten me thrown back into my cell. “I know you had a boyfriend, but you’re a lesbian, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if you hadn’t ever handled even just a penis before.”

That couldn’t have been further from the truth. I had lots of experience with men before in the past, and I knew my way around the penis. It was kind of an… obsession of mine, and she knew that. 

I was ashamed of it. I was a proud lesbian, but I was utterly cock obsessed. That was how I’d fooled myself into thinking I could be straight for Justin, that was why Justin and I had stayed together for so long. I was obsessed with the idea of him with a penis, not with him. The number of times I had typed the letters to the word ‘futa’ was absolutely deplorable. 

But I had never had a girlfriend before, I didn’t know how to please a woman, I didn’t know how to please Candace. But I wanted to, more than anything else I wanted to learn how to pleasure her. Like it or not at the current moment, she was my world. I kept asking myself, _how can I give myself up to her?_ And the answer kept coming back the same, _because I love her._

I wanted to peel back that gorgeous red bathing suit of hers and see the real her, to make up for what I did to her that night and actually truly pleasure her. Maybe my years of sucking my manager’s cock had trained me to be able to pleasure her with my mouth, maybe I could slide my tongue up her perfectly shaved pussy and eat her out like an obedient little mutt, her lap dog, her sex slave. 

“My preferences don’t matter, Ma’am.” I snapped myself out of my dangerous thoughts, once again resolving to give myself up to her once and for all. I wanted to make her happy. “And neither does my experience.” 

“Of course they don’t, what’s your point?” She crossed her legs, looking me directly in the eyes, the sunset reflected in her irises. 

“I beg of you, Ma’am… Let me pleasure you, tonight. Here and now.” 

“That sounds disturbingly like a demand, and you do not have the right to make demands with me.”

“I don’t demand anything, Ma’am… I can only beg, let me pleasure you in any way I can.”

Candace was taken aback slightly. She was hesitant, the first time she demanded sex from me I fought her and tried to escape, I tried to kill her on the night before I was meant to be spayed. My rescheduled spaying appointment had only just been the previous day, yet here I was kneeling before her with my hands facing palms up on my thighs, voluntarily giving myself up, offering to pleasure her.

“I’m afraid I’m not an easy woman to please, thrall. Last time, I quote… _let my libido get the better of me and allowed you to trick me into letting you close,_ end quote. How do I know that trying again would go any better?” 

“I know what I did last time, Ma’am, and I’m trying to fix that. That’s why I need this, I want to make up for my behavior, I want to do it right this time.” I curled my upturned hands into fists for a moment to show her that there was nothing at all in my hands. “I’m unarmed, I’m asking to be naked and vulnerable before you. All I have is what I am, and what I am is **yours** , Master.” 

She looked on at me in disbelief for a few moments with flashes of anger and strife in her eyes, but those burning emotions in her kept flickering, her heart flipping back and forth between anger and adulation, wrath and want, fury and desire. She so badly wanted to slam me down onto my back and take me right there, but she was disciplined. She could wait, but I couldn’t. I needed this to happen tonight, I needed to show her that I was willing right here and right now. 

“Master, please… I may have grown submissive, but I haven’t grown soft.” I continued to plead with her, expecting her to order silence from me at any moment. “I know this is sudden, I know this might be too soon, but you want me at my best and I want to give that to you, now.”

I swallowed nervously, licking my lips to keep them from drying up under the heat of the setting sun, begging desperately to be given just this chance. “Yes, this is my first day, and I may very well be speaking out of line right now, but that’s only because I still have a lot to learn. It’s not because of any unwillingness on my part, and I am just as willing to be punished for the words that are coming out of my mouth as I am eager to put myself between your legs and pleasure you to the best of my ability right here beside the pool, out in the open, proudly and shamelessly.”

  
I was going to get punished for this, I knew that and I was counting on it. I could see that she wanted to punish me, she wanted just as badly as I did to fuck me right here and now. “I can see it in your eyes, you want this!! I may not have wanted it then and I might just be fooling myself into thinking that I want it now, but what I wasn’t willing to give you two weeks ago I am desperate to give to you tonight. You deserved it then, and you still deserve it now. I’m ferocious and dangerous, but perfection and elegance can wait, Master. Let me give you passion. Let me give you fire. Let me give you pleasure.” 

I braced myself for what was to come next, blatantly disrespecting her to her face as I kept on, speaking out of line. I was no longer begging for it like I was her inferior, I was challenging her like I was her rival, I was demanding it. “I know that you want this, so let me give you what you want, _Master_ . **You want it. Take it from me**.”

_Take it from me. What a stupid thing to say. You want me to go down like a dog, but I want to go down screaming. I’m not gonna give my everything to you, I’m gonna make you take it all from me. Even if it hurts._

“Chloe or Sophia, it doesn’t matter which. This is **me** , St. Clair. You wanted the shields gone, so they’re gone, and now you just have **me**. I humiliated you in front of the world, so now it’s your turn.” I gasped for breath, bowing my head to her in reverence despite all that I was saying, my eyes pinched shut as I grovelled at her feet, my master’s feet. “Don’t lose this time…”

I could hear her breathing as quickly and as heavily as I was, but she was speechless. There was no way she could ignore such blatant arrogance and disrespect, but there was no adequate punishment that she could give me. She couldn’t ignore that kind of passion. 

She couldn’t stop herself anymore. She was going to have what she wanted and I was going to give it to her. 

“You’re mine…” She stood, glaring down at me from above. “If you think you have what it takes to pleasure me, then I’m going to make you pleasure me, even if it kills you.”

There it was, I had no choice now. I’d demanded it, and I was going to get it.

“You die tonight. I am going to make sure that tonight kills you.”

“Whatever you say...” I lifted my gaze where it didn’t belong just to meet her lust filled eyes as I amended myself, returning the same lustful passion back to her. “ **...Yes, Master.** ”

“Enjoy your last few shreds of dignity and willpower, because you’re about to get fucked by a **_GODDESS, AND I AM GOING TO BREAK YOU._ **” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope that was enjoyable~!!
> 
> Fun fact, Chapter 13 is already done. Chapter 12 is not.  
> I had originally planned to have Chapter 11 and 12 be the same chapter, but I decided that I needed to split them up~  
> But don't worry, once Chapter 12 is up, Chapter 13 will follow shortly~  
> And then read Birthday Girl, if you haven't already, it takes place immediately after Chapter 13  
> Alright thank you, Claira out <3
> 
> (Hi, yes my name is Claira, i'm not just some nameless author, i'm a real person, it's nice to meet you~ )  
> ( @ me at Clairanette#8008 on discord, if you'd like <3 )


	12. My Goddess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little disclaimer before the start of the chapter, because I feel like this one needs it.
> 
> I expect there to be some objection to the way that this one goes, as you will soon see, but please keep in mind that this is my story.  
> I'm writing it the way that I want it to be, and this was the way that it was always intended to be, even from the start~
> 
> I put a lot into this one, and I hope anyone who is reading this right now enjoys it, and I hope that you can appreciate both Candace and Chloe for who and what they are~
> 
> Disclaimer over, see you at the end of the chapter.  
> -Claira

That evening by the pool had awoken something in me, a lust for her that I needed to quell. 

I was doing this for myself just as much as I was doing this for her. 

I’d longed for death for the longest time, and I could have taken my life at any time, but there was always one tiny little thing that kept me going. Candace. 

If I was going to die, I would have died accidentally driving my car off the side of a bridge and into the ocean, but that wasn’t enough to kill me.

I showered quickly, cleaning myself off and delivering myself to Candace’s bedside, kneeling on the floor as I awaited her to return from her own shower. This was it, I was about to pleasure a goddess. The car accident that brought me here might not have been enough to kill me, but Candace might be. 

_She might fuck me to death, but there are worse ways to die~_

I waited for her, she shouldn’t be required to wait even a single moment for me, but I had to wait, to learn patience. 

She was cleaned and shaven, completely dried off and wrapped in her bathrobe. _What a tease… At least come out naked..._

I kneeled next to the bedside table, watching her reach over me. Naturally, her bracelet was the first thing that she retrieved. She had left it there, right next to me and out in the open, as a test. I could have picked it up and possibly freed myself, I’d made one escape attempt while she showered before, I could have attempted again, but I didn’t.

I didn’t know how the bracelet worked, but I could have figured it out, that wasn’t what was stopping me, she was. 

This wasn’t about me anymore, this was about her. I had challenged her to a fight and I was going to get my fight. I wanted Candace St. Clair to put the fear of God in me, and I was going to get it. 

“Get started.” She stood next to her bed, admiring the naked slave waiting for her to finish drying her hair. “If you like looking at my feet so badly, worship them.”

I was impatient, I wanted her sugary sweet cunt in my mouth as soon as possible, to show her what I was made of, but she wanted me to start at her feet, so that’s where I would start. At her feet, right where I belong. 

Kiss after kiss after kiss after kiss after kiss, Candace never flinched at the sensation, and neither did I. Determined to show her that I was worthy of pleasuring her, I kept on, steeling myself for the struggle to come. Fortunately her feet smelled like flowers, having just gotten out of the shower. 

**_ZAP._ **The moment I stopped for even just a moment, looking up at her to see her expression, she electrocuted me, it was a powerful shock, like lightning surging through my body. But I could take it. Hell, I was almost beginning to like it. 

I got back to worshipping, working my way up her legs, planting kisses along her soft beautiful flesh as I rose. It didn’t take long for me to reach her thighs, quickly approaching the other woman’s quim, savoring the taste of her flesh in my mouth, earning my way to her cunt. 

I got my first sniff of her scent, and I grew hungry, like a wild dog in heat, ready to devour her. 

Candace too grew hungry, ready to fuck me to death, excitement boiling hotter with every moment. Aching with lust and desire, she dropped her bathrobe onto the bed behind her, unveiling her naked body to me for the first time. 

“There’s no point in dragging this out then, you’ve waited this long… Show me what you can do~”

_Oh My Goddess~_

Candace didn’t have a cunt for me to suck, or a slit for me to shove my tongue into. 

Candace had a penis. 

I had dreamed of this. I had hoped and I had prayed. Every single sign seemingly pointed to it but I couldn’t believe it until I saw it, and it looked perfect. Candace was transgender. 

Of course she was transgender. That’s why she always hid her body from me. That’s why she wouldn’t swim naked. That’s why the child in the portrait with her mother looked like a boy, even though it only made sense for it to be her. 

That’s why she had gotten all of her surgeries. That’s why she was so obsessed with her appearance. That’s why she couldn’t stand being compared to her father, she wasn’t her father’s son, she couldn’t live with being called that.

That’s why she was so relieved when I’d gotten my period. That’s why they had rescheduled the surgery. That’s why she had me spayed in the first place, so that she could have me and never have to worry about getting me pregnant. 

That’s why she waited so long for this. But she didn’t need to wait anymore. She wanted me, and she was going to get me. 

I stared at it for a good few moments before lifting my gaze up to meet hers, with a fierce softness in my eyes to let her know that I was still willing and eager. I was still there and I was still hers. 

And then I opened my mouth~

There were no words that needed to be said, nothing was going to be coming out of my mouth, her cock was going in.

  
She was going to let me do my best, to pleasure her as best as I could. But I knew that sooner or later she was going to take control, and I was going to be at her mercy.

Before I could even start however, Candace placed one hand on the back of my head. She ran her fingers through my hair, but other than that she just kept it there. She didn’t take control, she was just making sure that I knew who was in charge. Candace was in charge.

_Gods, please fuck me to death… I can’t take this anymore…_

  
I didn’t need any help, I had sucked cock before, but I had almost always done it from a more dominant position. I did it because I craved it, not because I wanted to pleasure my partner. But now the opposite was true, Candace’s pleasure was first and foremost in my brain. I may have been feisty and violent in demanding sex from her, but I was doing this for her. I was here to serve her. 

I started at the head of her cock, wrapping one of my hands around the length of her shaft as I gently placed a small cluster of kisses on the very tip of her member. I looked up at her, trying to scan her expression for insight, but she just shook her head at me. She seemed very lightly stimulated by the act, but she was little more than amused, and I could begin to feel her tightening her grip on my skull. 

_No time to savor the taste of my conqueror._ I opened my mouth wide enough to fit the entire length of her member into my mouth, and then I went down, slowly sliding my head onto her quickly hardening cock. _That did it._

Candace grunted, loosening her grip slightly and letting me continue on my own for now, watching me with an intensity that let me know that if I even stopped for breath, I’d likely find myself being choked. 

_I can work with this. Breathe through my nose, and don’t stop._ Slowly I brought myself all the way to the base of her cock and then just as slowly I pulled back. I needed to get a feel for how deep her cock would be going before I tried to do anything fancy. I have to know what I’m working with. 

I had been with only a few different sexual partners, but the number wasn’t important, my strong suit was knowing what my partner liked, and working at getting them to cum as quick and as hard as possible. Before I could truly pleasure Candace I needed to know what she liked, I needed to know what she wanted… and Candace wanted me down on her cock.

She slammed my head back down on her cock, throwing my whole rhythm off as I gagged. Choking, I tried to pull my head off of her and catch my breath, but as soon as I tried to do that she caught the back of my head again and slammed my waiting mouth back onto her. 

“Mmmmnghh!!!” I sputtered and coughed, her cock still in my mouth. I could feel my eyes watering from the very sudden pain. _Calm down, she’s just screwing with you, keep going._

I slowly pulled myself from the base of her cock, but not wanting to get my throat slammed onto her member for the third time, I only made it about halfway up her shaft before I voluntarily put myself back down, feeling the now lubricated head of her cock pushing into my throat as I slid myself down. _She wants her head inside of me, got it._

I was still going for my usual tactic, trying to get her to orgasm as soon as I could, even and especially if it meant her spraying hot cum down my throat. But Candace had other plans.

I reeled, feeling her slam her entire foot down on one of my ankles, making me buckle and wobble. I lost my balance for only a split second, but that was enough for her to slam my waiting head back down to the base of her penis and hold it there. 

She was breathing heavily, almost growling under her breath, eyes hungry with desire and anticipation. She violently yanked my head from her member, holding me by my hair and forcing me off of my knees to look at her. 

It didn’t take me very long to realize what was going to happen next. She placed both of her hands on the back of my head, pressing her feet down onto the back of my shins and flattening them to the ground. Her hips didn’t need to buck or thrust, she had full control of my head, and she was going to make sure that I did all of the work. 

“Hgghhk!!” I choked, feeling her shaft slide through my mouth, silencing any of my thoughts. She had control now, and it was my job to relent it to her, regardless of how fiercely I wanted to be in control of how this went. 

_Slam._ She was exponentially more forceful in her desires than I had been. It was a sensitive thing, intimate but gentle. This was anything but gentle, this was hell. 

I could feel my legs being crushed beneath her feet, my knees digging into the carpeted floor beneath me while I struggled. She had a complete vice grip on my head, and she was slamming my head down onto the base of my cock at every opportunity she had. 

_I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe._

I placed my palms on the inside of her thighs and pushed, trying to leverage myself off of her cock so that I could breathe. 

She **growled**. Candace did not want to let her hot-headed little sextoy off of her cock, no matter what. But even as she growled I couldn’t find the ability to submit to her, I needed off and I needed off now. Just for a second, just for a moment, I just need to breathe.

I shoved myself off of her cock with all of the force I could muster, coughing and sputtering as I gagged, desperate for air.

 _Smack!!!_  
She pummeled the air out of my lungs before it even entered, slamming the back of her hand into my head and sending me soaring into the floor below. 

I could feel her standing over me. “I- I- I just need a Ghhckkk!!!” She shoved an entire handful of fingers into my mouth, yanking me off of the floor by my jaw. I wanted to fight, I wanted to bite, but I knew I couldn’t. My head was going right back onto that cock whether I liked it or not. 

Candace may have had a cock, but she had sex like no man. She was a woman, she was a Goddess, and I was going to pleasure her, not the other way around.

Her fingers came out, her cock went in, but this time rather than slamming my head back down on her, she slowly eased me back on, allowing me time to readjust and breathe through my nose. _How merciful…_

“Mmhhmmmghmmph…” In her hands, I had zero control. I was never powerless, I was always in control, it made me feel tough even when my mouth was stuffed full with the length of my partner’s penis. But Candace had taken even that away from me. I was submissive, I was her cocksleeve, I was her toy. 

It almost felt freeing, she was making good on her promise to take what she wanted from me. I had wanted to go down screaming, but even after all of that, I hadn’t expected to have this shred of dignity taken from me. My mastery over cock was being shoved aside in favor of turning me into a sextoy, a doll.

She knew what she wanted and she went for it, continuing to skullfuck me until I could feel her beginning to cum down my throat, but it didn’t end there. 

I knew that one measly little orgasm wasn’t going to be enough for her, this little cock sucking session was hardly worthy of being called our warmup.

“Pathetic.” Candace sighed, slowly prying my head from her still swollen member, looking me dead in the eyes to make sure that I knew I wasn’t off the hook yet, not even close. “I’ve gotten better from Elizabeth, and her head wasn’t even in it… I hope you aren’t holding back on me.”

I snarled. How dare she insult me, it wasn’t my fault that she didn’t even let me do my work. I wanted to shout at her, but luckily for me I found myself very quickly being shoved back down, once again choking on the length of Candace’s penis.

Candace’s cock was unlike any other cock I had handled before, there wasn’t much testosterone flowing through her gorgeous body, just a lot of estrogen, and that meant her cock worked differently. Sex worked differently for her. I couldn’t quite figure it out, it was foreign to me, even more foreign to me than the vagina. I could work a quim, I had been doing so to myself for years. But my master’s thick throbbing member wasn’t quite either thing. It was something new, and like her, it was hungry. 

_Focus Chloe… Pleasure her… Pleasure her…_

I was on my knees before her, and I was going to pleasure her even if it killed me, which part of me wished it would. I glanced up at her gorgeous body from below, trying to reposition myself. From between them, I put my arms under her knees and grabbed both of her thighs from the outside, gently squeezing them. One of her legs twitched. _Got you…_

Her thighs were sensitive, twitching ever so slightly at every squeeze. I slid my hands up towards her hips, feeling her hips start to twitch ever so slightly as she continued to use my mouth as a cocksleeve. My head might have been the only thing moving, but she was doing all of the work by controlling me. 

I seized control back from her, feeling her tighten her grip in my hair as I began to bob my head on her swollen member, quickening my pace as she slowly released control of my head back to me, letting me control the pace at which I sucked her cock. _Sensitive all over, huh?_

That was going to be my win condition, everywhere was an erogenous zone for her.

“Ah!!” I could barely hear it through the sounds of sucking her cock, but she moaned. “You brat.”

No holding back, she wanted it intense straight out of the gate. She had entertained my little warm up show before the first orgasm, but seized control of it in an instant as soon as she’d grown impatient. But I could match her needs, I could go this fast all on my own. I could make Candace do a lot more than just moan, even without her help. _Who’s pathetic now?_

She **bucked** , sending her cock slamming down my throat, and in an instant my face was pressed against her hips. Her cock was somehow still working its way to fully erect, even after the first orgasm. I was beginning to grasp the full extent of what it was I was dealing with, the sweet treat sliding it’s way down my throat was a lot bigger than I had expected it to be when I first laid eyes on it. It helped her hide the not so little secret tucked between her legs. Candace’s was the type that started small and grew into a monster when it got hungry enough. _My favorite~_

I’d done this before, and a single buck of the hips wasn’t enough to throw me off when my head was in the game, and I was really getting into it. Her cock wasn’t the only hungry monster in the room. But it didn’t stop at one buck, it was like every few moments she failed to hold herself back, either bucking her hips to drive her shaft further into my mouth, or letting out a soft moan that could only mean that she was enjoying herself. _Check. Your turn St. Clair._

She had forced herself to grind out an orgasm into my mouth for an easy victory during round one, and Candace wasn’t giving up round two so easily. There was a very subtle shift occurring, and spraying hot semen down my throat now would mean giving me a win. This wasn’t just sex, this was a competition, a game. A game that both of us were determined not to lose. 

_Don’t lose this time._ I had told her, but I wasn’t about to swallow my pride just to make room in my mouth for an enemy’s cock. We may not have been on equal footing, but we were on the same frequency. We were bitter rivals locked in on each other’s eyes, tuned into the other’s tactics. I was not about to lose, even if winning killed me. 

She thrusted her cock down my skull, slamming my head down on her cock once again and throatfucking me. It was a predictable move, but just because I was expecting it didn’t mean that I was prepared to be able to take it. Her cock was a lot bigger than my mouth, and she liked it deep. **As deep as it could go**.

I choked, the air I needed to breathe being coughed out of me. She craved an orgasm, and she was hungry for it now. We were both hungry for Candace to pump cum down my throat, and we were both already dripping. 

Squeezing her thighs as hard as I could, the kind of restraint it took to keep myself anchored in place was enormous. Not only because of the sheer force of Candace spearing herself as far down my mouth as she could, but also because of the raw primal desire demanding that I retreat and finger myself just as forcefully. But there was no retreat for me, Candace had a hold of my head and a single thrust wasn’t enough for her. 

I endured the first powerful buck of her hips as she shoved her penis as far in as she could, but Candace was now doing it relentlessly. I couldn’t breathe, but who cared about breathing, I just wanting to fall back and fuck myself with my own hands. 

This wasn’t just the excitement of having my partner’s cock right where I wanted it, this was the excitement of being forcefully overtaken by an extremely powerful woman. I had demanded that she take what she wanted from me, and I was not disappointed. 

I couldn’t lose this round to her, not after coming this far. But I wasn’t going to be able to remain conscious if I couldn’t bring her to orgasm soon. 

Quickly losing ground as she continued to pound my throat with her cock, I made one final perfectly timed move, shoving myself as hard as I could down the length of her shaft, practically swallowing the head of her member. 

“Mmmph!!” Her floodgates broke, and I could hear a blissful moan escape from her now wide open mouth as she hit her second orgasm in my mouth. 

She had stamina, and her orgasms were intense, I knew what to do from here, watching her buck her hips as she began to cum, slowly sliding back up her shaft just in time to get the sweet taste of her cum in my mouth before she sprayed it all down my throat where I couldn’t get to it. 

I held myself there, having regained control as she rode out her orgasm in my mouth, waiting for her to finish before I pulled off to breathe. 

_Phhhfft._ I spat. Making a calculated swerve to quickly pull myself off of her cock and swinging myself to the waste basket next to her bedside table. Spitting every last drop of her liquidy semen back out before it could be swallowed, just in time to prevent myself from gagging and spitting everything else back up to… Then I did something stupid. 

“That’s 1-1, I win this round.” 

She did not at all appreciate hearing those words coming out of my mouth, and that alone was going to cost me the next round of this demented game we were playing. I could see it in her eyes, she was about to destroy me, and I didn’t have the energy to fight back. _Fuck._

Candace was able to regain her breath long before I was able to, and I quickly regretted bragging about my victory as I felt her curl her fist in my hair, and yank me up off of my knees with just one hand. 

She was bigger, taller, and stronger than I was. She had no problem swinging me into the air and slamming me down onto the bed. My conqueror bent me over the side of the bed, burying my head in the sheets below. My ass may have been in the air and facing her, but I wasn’t about to get spanked. **No**.

Even after a second orgasm, she had the stamina to keep going, and the desire to break me had only been reignited hearing the words coming out of my mouth, watching me disrespect her by spitting her cum back out without swallowing it.

I could not go another round like that, I needed to breathe, and even worse, my quim was aching to be spearheaded by that delicious cock. Master’s cock. I was dripping onto her sheets just lying there, I needed her to split me in half. 

I didn’t want to give, I didn’t want to lose another round to her. This was how it went that night too, during the world championship. 

Sophia. Candace. Sophia. Candace. Sophia. Before I finally denied her the chance of even facing off for the title in one final round, winning it all in round six.  
Except this time it was reversed. Candace then Chloe, and she was about to win another one. There must have been some way to stop it, if I could just orgasm on my own terms before she got to me, I could still turn this around. But I was tired, and I was overpowered. 

And I wanted this.

“Aaahhhmmmmmmmmph!!!” What came out of my mouth barely counted as a moan, it was more like a pained squeal of pleasure as she shoved her cock up my slit. 

_Pop_ . It slid in easily, in just an instant she had her cock right where **she** wanted it, as deep as it could go, and my sopping wet slit just let her. 

I was a sex slave, I wasn’t trying to dominate her, I was here to serve, and the only way to win was to serve on my own terms. But Candace was already inside of me now, and there was nothing I could do to stop her from fucking my brains out, splayed on the bed in front of her. 

I was never trying to top her, but the cruel reality hit me in waves as she gripped my wrists, pulling my shoulders back and arching my back for me, pounding my waiting pussy to pieces as she bucked her hip, thrusting her member into me.

It was mortifying, the bitter cruel reality hitting me harder than she ever had. 

I was the bottom, and I liked it. 

I had hoped, I had prayed that the wetness between my legs had come from the fact that she had a cock, but no. From how easily my slit gave way to Candace’s desires, I could tell that it was because I wanted to be dominated.

 _Take it from me._ I had said, because I really did want her to break me, body and spirit, and here I was getting exactly what I asked for.

There was no resistance, there was no fight, there was just eager submission, **hungry** submission. My body bent to her will, and I squealed, **loudly**. Thrumming as I came, being brought to a quick and merciless orgasm as my vagina contracted on her swollen cock.

“2-1.” She growled into my ear, climbing on top of me. “Don’t push your luck, brat.”

She was playing this game too, and she was just as hungry to win as I was. There should have been no way for me to win this game, I was on the bottom no matter what. But it wasn’t about who was on top, it was about walking away with my dignity intact. I was gonna be the best god damn sex slave on the planet, and she was going to like it.

I was quickly losing steam, she bent me over and split me in half in less than a minute, and as soon as she realized that being submissive was beginning to get to me, I was doomed to fail. 

I had to pleasure her, to bring her to her third orgasm without letting her know that I was aching to bend over and take her full force all over again. 

She dropped my arms, giving me a few moments to recover as she repositioned herself, pulling out and climbing on the bed next to me.

She was an undisputed Goddess, an **idol**. I’d never seen a woman so drop dead gorgeous, even in porn, and she was powerful to boot. But she had a weakness. 

No longer a lap dog, I pounced, closing in on her like a wolf before she had time to react. I shouldn’t have recovered so quickly, but in moments I had her on her back beneath me for the first time, gazing down into her eyes. 

She had that same look on her face as that night when I attacked, that terrified expression of a girl who was about to die. For a moment I could see that horror in her eyes, wondering if this was the moment she died. 

It was inhuman how fast I jumped on the opportunity, the margin for error had been so unbelievably miniscule, and I wasn’t even sure if I was done with my orgasm, but the adrenaline hit me. She was about to get rocked, this was how I did things, this was how **I** stayed on top. She was bigger, stronger, and more resilient than I was, if I didn’t strike soon, she wouldn’t stay down for long. If given the space and just a few moments of time, she could have me flipped onto my back and begging for another release. But with a little bit of leverage and a lot of know how, I could keep her down. 

She had tits, nice round ones, plump and soft, and she was sensitive everywhere. I saw the same anger in her eyes as that night too, but even that was quickly torn from her. 

I placed my hands on her plush breasts and squeezed. It was the last thing she had expected, knowing how head over heels I would fall for her monstrous member. But I was a proud lesbian, and I was hungry for all of her, not just what she had hidden between her legs. 

“You little-” I placed a hand over her mouth to silence her, watching the fear getting put back in her eyes. This was about more than pleasuring her, I needed to win, and if that meant topping Candace, then that’s what was going to happen.

She watched me with an intensity in her eyes as I slid my hands down her sides, watching her squirm at my touch. She was sensitive alright. Now I would get to experience her cock from a much more dignified position, on top.

I slid my still twitching pussy back down onto her member, watching her writhe under me. Her cock was still aching for release, she had gotten a taste of my wet slit and she wanted more, which meant she wasn’t about to argue about me voluntarily sliding myself onto her. 

I bounced, watching Candace tilt her head back as I went up and down on her cock with another one of my holes. Something told me that she was begrudgingly enjoying being able to just lie on her back and have someone do the work of bringing out her climax for her. She was living for this. 

I was physically on top, but I was still servicing her, there was an important distinction between what I was doing and actual topping. I wasn’t in charge here, I wasn’t issuing orders, I wasn’t even in control of what she was doing, I was just pleasuring her. But from here I had the high ground, I was once again winning. 

But I knew I couldn’t last very long either. Every moment brought me closer and closer to my own orgasm, and if I wasn’t careful I’d end up on my belly before I’d even brought Candace to a finish. 

I could feel the collar around my neck reminding me of the grim reality I was trapped in. Once tonight was over, Candace would once again be in full control, anything and everything I did to her now was sure to get me punished, and that made my slit wet with excitement. 

Gods, I wasn’t doing this because I wanted to be on top. I was aching to be punished, to be put back in my place where I belong. The idea was unthinkable to me, how could I endure so much pain but still crave more. How could I put up with all of the shame and humiliation but continue to snarl at her for more.

I really was a brat, and I didn’t even realize it.

_Is that why I want to win? Because I want to be punished?_

Candace was growing tired, but I could tell she had a lot of fight left in her, more than she ought to have. Despite that, I had clearly won this round, she had gritted her teeth and lied back, letting me slowly but surely bring her to her third orgasm of the night. 

_Don’t push my luck_. She said, but I did more than just push my luck, I had overstepped my boundary, overplayed my hand. She was going to come back after this, and she was going to come back with a fiery vengeance. But for now she would entertain my little show, admiring as her sex slave eagerly bounced on her swollen cock. There would be no mistake, I was here to serve her, not the other way around, but I had achieved another small victory over her. 

She came, and she came hard, just like her last orgasm. She had a seeming abundance of semen to pump into me, especially for a woman who had already done so twice tonight. But as she did so, I could see that usual eager smirk on her beautiful painted lips. She had something up her sleeve, and whatever it was, I was sure that I wasn’t going to like it. Or maybe I was?

“Having fun there, Chloe?” She was just watching me with a hungry smile. 

_Fuck. Don’t look at me!!_ I couldn’t stop myself, I knew she had already finished her orgasm, but I was still bouncing. I couldn’t stop. I was so desperate.

“Get off of me, slave.” 

Like a dog, my ears twitched at the word. _Slave_ . And like a dog, but even more so like a slave, my first instinct was to do just that. Do as she said, and get off. But I couldn’t, I was so close, I just needed a little bit more. _Just a little bit more…_

“Risky little move you made there, but it means nothing.” She was still regaining her breath as she spoke. I watched her lift her hand, flinching away from it, clenching my eyes closed as I felt her very gently slip her fingers beneath my collar. “Because I have you, right here.”

She curled her hands around the front of my collar. I gasped as I felt her slowly lift me off of her cock by the metal band around my neck, whimpering as I continued to drip onto her waist, my hips still bucking rhythmically, desperately wanting back on. 

She was so much stronger than I was physically, but also mentally. I was weak and needy, and I couldn’t possibly overpower her even if I tried, and I didn’t even try. 

Candace was in control, and my body didn’t even put up a fight as she forced me off of her against my will. I was aching for punishment, and she knew. 

_Don’t let her win. Don’t let her break you. Don’t let her-_

“Aaaaaughh!!!” I gasped loudly as she pressed two of her fingers into my eagerly waiting quim. I curled my hands into fists as if I wanted to hit her, but I didn’t have control over my body. I was her puppet, my aching slit squeezing around her fingers.

She sat up, tilting me onto my back, setting my head at the edge of the bed, only just barely managing to stay on the mattress. 

“Mmmm…. Aaaaahh!! Ahh!!” I moaned, feeling her rub my clitoris with her thumb, gently scratching at it with her painted nails. 

“And here I thought you were just difficult~” 

“Aaaaaahh!!! Mmmphhhh… Aaaughhh!!” I squealed again, feeling her curl her fingers slightly, pressing them even further inside of me. 

“You’re not really that difficult to tame after all, are you?” She twisted her fingers inside of me, sending a torrent of pain through my body. “You **like** this, don’t you?”

“Aughh!! N-no!!!!” 

I flinched as I saw her hand, blinding myself just in time to feel her smack me across my face.

“I can see your true colors now, Chloe. You can’t hide it from me…” I gasped under my breath as I felt her open my mouth, parting my lips as she slipped her other hand into my mouth, holding me there like a pig on a spit, about to be roasted. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you desperately fucking yourself on my gorgeous little lady cock, girl. You can even control yourself… I can **feel** just how wet this is making you.”

Like a pig, I squealed in her hand, the fingers of one of her hands deep in my mouth while she twisted the fingers of her other hand in my quim, crushing my clitoris beneath her thumb. She was right, I could feel just how quickly I was dripping into her hands, desperate for her to mercilessly fingerfuck me right then and there. 

Instead, she pulled her hand from my slit. I whimpered in embarrassment through my closed lips as I felt my hips buck at the absence, chasing after the feeling over her claws inside of me. 

“If you want it… then be a good girl, and earn it~” She adjusted me slightly, climbing to the floor and standing over me as she pulled me towards her, tilting my head back over the side of the bed. She tilted my head back to look up at her, her fingers still in my mouth as my head hung there, almost upside down. 

“Mmmph…. Nh…” I felt my hands darting between my legs, desperate to bring myself to release before I came down from the edge.

“Gaaaghckk!!!” She shoved her fingers down my throat, growling at me as she threatened to drive her entire fist down my throat. 

I grasped at her hand, trying to pull it out of my mouth before I spat up and vomited all over her, but she didn’t relent. Instead she forcefully grabbed ahold of my right hand with hers, very nearly pulling it from its socket. “Heel.”

My fingers trembled, my left hand curled around hers, desperately wanting to pull her fist out from between my teeth. I gave, letting go of her hand and curling both of mine into fists. 

I very nearly vomited all over her as she pulled her hand from my mouth, looking down at me as I spat and coughed, sputtering desperately for breath. 

She clasped her left hand around mine, holding both of my arms at my wrists and digging her fingernails into my flesh, tearing at the nerves by my hands. In a desperate attempt to keep myself from lashing at her, I dug my fingernails into the skin of my palms.

“You had better get that gag reflex under control, and fast. If you vomit on me, I will make sure you never breathe again.” Candace had the stamina of a goddess. She stood over me, her gorgeous member still aching and mostly erect even after three orgasms. “And this time… You’ll **swallow**.”

My eyes grew wide with fear and terror, and suddenly I knew exactly how Candace felt that night, glaring up at me wielding a knife at her. But instead of a knife, Candace just had her cock, and she knew exactly how to use it. 

She slid herself back down my throat, using my face as a cocksleeve as she put the head of her penis as deep as she could, right where she liked it, before proceeding to skullfuck me into submission. 

It was a rough and merciless beating, I could feel myself fading in and out of consciousness as I struggled to breathe. This facefucking was far more raw and painful than the first two, and it lasted what could have only possibly been four times as long. This was Candace’s fourth orgasm of the night, and even she wasn’t sure that she could bring herself to cum into my mouth once more.

But I could feel her getting there. She squeezed my wrists, cutting off blood flow to my hands to keep blood pumping where she needed it to be, mercilessly forcing me to stay conscious and endure my torment. 

Candace did all of the work, bucking her hips into my face, and it was her most well earned orgasm to date, pumping and equally brutal pool of cum into my mouth as the fucking itself. 

I knew if I tried to spit it out, I’d hurl, and Candace wasn’t going to let that happen, even as she pulled herself from my mouth, glaring down at me with an angry passion in her eyes. “Now **swallow**.”

I stared up into the beautiful yet unrelenting ocean that was her eyes, feeling the painful tears in the corners of my own as I kept my gaze locked onto hers. 

Then I swallowed. 

“Show me.” She eased her grip on my wrists, speaking calmly and confidently as she looked down at me to make sure I had swallowed every last drop of her semen. 

Still upturned over the edge of her mattress, I opened my mouth as wide as I could possibly open it after a ferocious throat fucking like I had just endured, my tongue hanging out of my mouth to prove to her that I had in fact done as she had ordered. I swallowed it all, just like I was told.

“Good.” In one quick but rather ungraceful maneuver, she hoisted me up and swiveled me in place before dropping me back down on the bed, no longer leaving me dangling over the abyss below. My arms now lying beside my head, completely unfeeling and unmoving, leaving me helplessly unable to touch myself, no matter how hard I tried. 

“Please…” My aching pussy had been given enough time to come back down from the edge of orgasm, but it hadn’t forgotten what it wanted. It was still hungry and desperate for release, and having her relentlessly pound my throat with her swollen cock hadn’t helped. 

My quim had never been this wet before. Those last few minutes of getting my brain fucked out by my conqueror had left me more desperate for release than I had ever been in my entire life.

There was no one in the world who could get me this hot and excited, except for Candace St. Clair. 

“Please… I’m begging you...”

“Well isn’t this familiar, Chloe… Looks like the score is 3-2, huh?” She climbed onto the bed in front of me, sitting at my feet and spreading my legs with her hands. “And guess who’s winning this time~”

I bit my lip, desperate moans quietly slipping through my clenched teeth. “I don’t want to play anymore-”

“I don’t care what you want, I want to **win**.” She squeezed my own sensitive thighs with her hands, watching me arch my back. “What do you think? Do you have it in you to bring this to a final round face off, or should I end it here, hmm?”

She was already rubbing in her victory, wanting to close this little game we were playing by shutting me out before a seventh round, 4-2, just like I had beaten her on the world stage. 

I wanted- needed more than anything to feel that final desperate release in her hands. But I had a little bit of fight in me, yet as soon as I thought that maybe I could keep going, maybe I could bring the score to 3-3 so that we could end this competition on equal terms, I made the mistake of opening my nearly crying eyes. 

My eyes grew wide with shame and shock as soon as I spotted what was in her hands. “That’s cheating…”

The cold steel of the metal shackle around my neck stung, I could almost imagine the sensation of my collar vibrating against the skin of my now cum plastered throat. Feeling the breath escape from my lungs and through my lips as I watched her tease me, slowly circling her thumb around the button. The **clicker**.

“That’s not fair…”

“All is fair in love and war, doll~” She slid her right hand up my thigh, holding her fingers a microscopic length away from my desperately begging labia. “And what is this, Chloe… love or war?”

“Love…” I pinched my eyes closed once again, feeling just a couple tears slide down my temples as I laid my head back down on the pillow. “This is love… Master…”

“Any last words before you lose, Chloe~?” She slowly pushed her fingers past my twitching labia, watching me squirm happily on the bed before her. 

“I forfeit…” 

I would have tried to stop myself, I could have tried to keep a semblance of composure, but I didn’t care. Right now, more than anything else in the world, this was exactly what I wanted.

“So be it~” She forcefully pushed her fingers back inside of me, pressing them into her favorite spot, as deep as she could go, beginning to pump my slit with one hand. 

“Mmmmm…. Ohhhh... Aaaahhhhh~!!!” I gasped quietly, then moaned. I knew all along that no one could hear me but her, but I didn’t even want to offer her the satisfaction of hearing my moans. 

But as she fingered me, I squealed, and I squealed like a pig. Not because I couldn’t stop myself. Not because I no longer cared. But because I wanted this. I wanted her to hear me moan.

I had offered her the chance to take her revenge, challenged her to do so. I had begged her to fight me, thinking that just maybe I could come out on top, just like last time. But I lost, and now all I wanted was to moan for her. She earned it, she **won** it, and I was going to give it to her. 

Once upon a time I defeated and humiliated her in front of the world, and I had demanded that she do the same to me. I wanted this, not only for her, but for myself. I needed it, I craved it.

I wanted to offer her the satisfaction of beating and humiliating me, and I was going to know what it felt like to truly and finally be defeated and humiliated by her, and I was going to love it. 

She really was a goddess, My goddess. This morning she was a demon, but all of a sudden, she was my everything, she was my world. Her fingers felt like magic inside of me, gracefully and generously bringing me to the edge of orgasm, giving me the privilege and honor of getting to cum in her hand, allowing me the gift of pleasure at her touch.

**_Click!!_ **

I could hear the sound of the clicker as I felt myself finally being pushed over the edge, the collar around my neck vibrated against my skin as I came. 

The pleasure and pain was indescribable, and as I rode out the single greatest orgasm I had experienced in my entire life, I could feel everything leaving me. 

I screamed and I moaned, my voice echoing back at me to make sure that I knew exactly what sound I was making. 

The feeling of pleasure drowned out absolutely everything else, and once it was all over, I cried, loudly and shamelessly, feeling tears pouring out of my eyes and onto the pillow beneath me. 

I expected something from her, to have her slap me back to my senses, to choke me out and silence my painful sobs, to knock me unconscious just to make it stop, to mock me for my weakness, to keep her promise to make sure that tonight killed me. 

She leaned her back against the wall behind her, very gently lifting me from the sobbing mess I had melted into and sitting me up, gently pulling me into her lap. Then she held me there, silently and wordlessly wrapping one arm around me and holding me close. She let the warmth of her body pressed against mine do all of the talking for her. 

With a fierce softness in her touch, Candace embraced me, letting me know that she had me. She was still there, and she was still mine. 

I had changed, and so had she. From just her touch alone I could feel that she was just as much mine as I was hers, and I never wanted that feeling to go away~ 

↞✶↠

She very gently shook me awake. 

I had cried myself to sleep. My body trembled as I struggled to come to my senses, my heart pounding and my head aching, the corner of my eyes still wet with tears. 

She gently patted my lower back, having me sit up to face her. She had slipped away from my still naked body as I slept. She had tucked her little secret away back between her thighs and gotten dressed, but I could tell from the way she smelled that she hadn’t done so until after she had taken another shower. 

We had played a game that only the two of us could understand, and though in the end I had lost, I felt something deeper between the two of us, something genuine and good.

The victory itself had also been a hard fought battle for Candace, enough to prompt her to take the second shower of the day, and I could see that she was now gesturing for me to do the same. 

She wordlessly led me to her closet and helped me into my small personal bathroom, and I took my shower as normal, but this time the water was warm, just like her touch. It was enough to bring me to tears again. She couldn’t hear it, or maybe she could, but regardless of which I sobbed to myself again as I cleaned off, before drying off and making myself presentable, slipping on whatever clothes she had left for me to wear, like I always did.

It was a gorgeous lace nightgown, one of hers. Baby blue, with a faded array of red stains around the bust, the very same. Not even a professional could manage to remove the bloodstains I had caused. 

I exited back out of the bathroom, stepping into the slightly larger space. The door to my cell was closed, but the closet door wasn’t. As I headed back into the master bedroom, I turned my head to the bed, looking for Candace, but she wasn’t there. The bed was now empty, devoid of even bedsheets. She was seated in one of the couches by her glass table, waiting for me to return. 

"4-2, I won~" My voice was weak and unsure of itself, but Candace spoke first, elegantly and confidently, looking up at me and gesturing back to the closet where I had just come from. “Go make the bed, sweetie.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I sighed to myself as I turned and headed back to the closet, grabbing a spare set of bedsheets to make Candace’s bed with, something I had experience with doing many times before. My heart was aching with anticipation for what would happen next as I finished doing as I was told. 

“Good girl.” She stood up, turning off the monitor mounted on the wall monitor and walking over to me. I wasn’t sure what sort of mood I should have expected her to be in, but she smiled, slipping a few of her fingers beneath my irremovable metal collar. She gently tugged on it, not trying to hurt me, just trying to reassert her dominance over me. “Mine.”

I could feel my cheeks burning, presumably turning a deep pink even if I couldn’t see them, my heart skipping just a single beat as the butterflies in my stomach began to disperse. “Yours…”

Her expression only grew happier seeing me blush. “Come on, get in. Let’s go to bed.~”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I didn’t need any more than just that to do as I was told, climbing onto the mattress and setting myself on top of the blankets between her and the wall, watching her climb in after me. 

Both her bracelet and the clicker were set down on the bedside table next to us, but I wasn’t going to touch them, I didn’t want to ruin whatever it was that I felt between us now. 

She lifted the blankets, letting me slide in under them next to her, before picking up her bracelet and manually turning off the lights. She lifted it in the palm of her hand, showing it to me. “You don’t touch this, okay?” 

“I wasn’t going to, Ma’am.” I swallowed nervously, watching her set in back down on the bedside table. “I promise…”

“Good… and the clicker is off limits too.” She turned to me, pressing one hand against my face and gently rubbing my cheek. “You got eight today, but don’t expect me to be so generous anymore, I expect my little brat to be on her best behavior tomorrow, no pulling anything like you pulled today, okay?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll do my best.” She ordered me not to touch either device, and I was going to listen. There wasn’t much I could do after a night of being so thoroughly defeated and humiliated like I had been. “...you’re not upset at me, are you?”

“No, sweetie. I think you know your place now~” She smiled and shook her head, tilting mine ever so slightly as she brought my lips to hers, embracing me with a loving kiss goodnight. “You misbehaved and got punished for it, and now we’ve moved on. No more being upset, no need to hurt you anymore, okay… You did what you did and you learned from your mistake, haven’t you?”

“I have.” I licked my lips, savoring the sweet scent and taste of her breath on my skin. “I promise, Master~”

She giggled ever so slightly at me. “That one’s your favorite, isn’t it?”

I paused, turning pink again. “My favorite what, Master?”

“You’re favorite thing to call me, darling.” She sighed, laying down on her back. “Master~”

“I suppose it is…” I found myself laying right next to her, my body in her arms, head pressed against her chest. “Master~”

“Anything you want to say before you go to bed, Chloe?” She gently wrapped her arm around me. “You can wait until tomorrow morning to try and recite those guidelines if you’d like, I won’t mind.”

I stopped, knowing that I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep, but feeling myself suddenly obligated to try. “I don’t remember them, but I can attempt, Master.”

I waited for her to nod at me to start before I began. “Know my place. Know my master. Show respect. Strive for perfection. Act out of love. Do as I’m told. Don’t fight back… Be vulnerable. Be adaptable… and… Identify with my master?” 

“Good girl~” The room was dark, but I could see her smile. “They’re a little out of order, but they’re all there… except I’m gonna need more than just the titles from you, starting tomorrow I’m gonna need you to memorize every single word, okay?”

I closed my eyes and nuzzled into her chest, nodding my head. I didn’t have the energy to argue, and I knew it wouldn’t do me any good regardless. She was my master, and I needed to do what she said. 

“Goodnight, Chloe~”

“Goodnight, Master…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Similarities aside, neither Candace nor Chloe were based on any specific persons, real or otherwise. They were based off of the specific tropes that surround the type of characters that they are, and the similarities between Candace and a certain starcraft player are... unfortunately coincidental.


	13. Security Bell

I held the bell in my hand, admiring the way the rose gold metal shined in the light. 

The goal was one hundred clicks, and the slave was getting dangerously close to her quota, but she was also getting dangerously close to the deadline. Tonight was the deadline. 

_One hundred clicks, or you don’t get this bell._

I sighed, wrapping both of my hands around it and holding it to my chest.

_You can do this Chloe, I know you can do this._

Chloe didn’t know it, but the reason the deadline was tonight, was because tomorrow is her birthday. Of course, she didn’t know what exactly was on the line if she couldn’t manage to meet her quota, and there was a lot more on the line than just a silly bell, or even the entire birthday celebration. There were a lot more fundamental things riding on Chloe’s performance, of course she was **eventually** going to meet her quota, but she couldn’t move onto the next step until she had. Her master could give her an extension, but she wasn’t going to get an extension. Chloe needed to know that when her master set a deadline, she expected Chloe to meet that deadline. But also, it may be less fundamental, but it was just as important, Chloe wasn’t going to get an extension because Chloe was **going** to meet her deadline, she had to… because if she didn’t, there wasn’t going to be a birthday celebration for her in the first place. 

Tomorrow was supposed to be a special day for her, and Chloe needs that, we both need that. But the bell, that was for me, a tangible representation of what was at stake, not just for her… but for me.

I wanted to see that little bell dangling from her cute little neck more than anything else, not just because it was cute, but because I wanted to have a visible reminder to myself that my slave had made me proud. I needed to be able to see that our relationship was working, I needed to know that she wasn’t going to be taken away from me. But I couldn’t just hand it to her, I need to be fair. 

If she can’t earn this bell, she can’t have this bell. Because if she can’t earn this bell, I can’t keep fooling myself into believing that this was working. I had to be prepared for the worst. If she can’t earn this bell, I have to be ready to let go of her. If she can’t earn her place by my side, I have to be ready to lose her, just like I’d lost my mother.

_One hundred clicks, or I don’t get to see you wear this bell._

_One hundred clicks, or I can’t give you this bell._

_One hundred clicks, or I can’t keep you._

_One hundred clicks, or I can’t marry you._

The deadline, tonight before bed, and only I knew how many clicks she was already at. _91._

She needed nine clicks, it was still feasible, but it was more than she had ever accomplished in a single day. Chloe had a few rough days sprinkled in there, she usually averaged somewhere around six clicks per day, seven clicks on a good day. But she had never exceeded eight clicks in a single day.

 _She needs_ **_nine_ ** _clicks._

“You just need nine clicks… You can do it…” 

I mumbled to myself, slipping the bell into the pocket of my beautiful blue romper. I knew that blue was supposed to be a boy color, but it was still my favorite color regardless. It was enough to bother me, but I wasn’t about to just give it up, it had always been my favorite color, and I wasn’t going to just uproot my opinions of the color wheel just because of a single arbitrary moment of self discovery. Besides, it looked gorgeous on me, and I was a stunningly beautiful lesbian queen, even if the public didn’t know my sexuality, it was kind of my job to go against the norm. I just had to pinch my thighs together, keep my head up and try not to look down, then slip the garment on. 

_You raised a beautiful woman, mom._ Insecurities. Everyone has them, even the starlet Candace St. Clair. **She** has a lot more dirty little secrets than the average person does. 

“Speaking of dirty little secrets… I should go get her, huh?” She looked so cute when she was sleeping, but she couldn’t earn my hand by sleeping in. I **was** going to give her the edge and wake her up early, even if she didn’t know it. 

Unlocking the door to the closet, I stepped inside. Shortly after starting her training, I had stopped restraining her before opening the cell door. When she had first gotten here, I put in the extra effort to make sure that I was completely safe and secure when letting her out of her cell, but I didn’t need that anymore. I did however, need to put on my dominant face. “Good morning, slave.”

“Good morning, Master.” It was so cute how she yawned, but what was even cuter was that she had a tendency to use ‘Master’ as her preferred manner of addressing me. It might have bothered me knowing that it was predominantly used as a male title, but I didn’t actually mind, I rocked it. “May I begin, Master?”

“Yes, you may~” I watched her kneel, looking up at me with that usual nervous look on her face. Since beginning her training, we began every day by having her recite the many tenets of her existence, and we ended our nights with them as well. 

The margin for error today wouldn’t have been so tight had she managed to remember them sooner, but she struggled with them. Chloe hadn’t yet successfully managed to recite them all perfectly. Not even once.

“Thank you, Master.” She always tried her best, but her best hadn’t quite been enough just yet.

“One. Know my place. I have a role to play. I have a purpose. As a slave, my purpose is whatever my master says it is. I am below my master, and I will remember my place and purpose.”

“Two. Know my master. I have a master, and I know who my master is. I belong to her, and that puts her above all others. She is the center of my world, and I will learn what she needs, learn what she wants, and learn how to serve her.”

“Three. Show respect. I am a slave, not a person. All others are above me and they deserve to be respected. I will put myself below all others, but I will respect my master first and foremost. As a slave, my master is above all others, and I am below all others.”

“Four. Do as I’m told. I will obey my master at all times. When my master tells me to do something, I am to do it. No matter what I’m told, I will always follow my master’s directions.”

“Five. Do not fight back. My master deserves my full respect and cooperation. I will not disobey orders. I will not talk back. I will not disagree with her. My master is the only thing that matters, and I am not to fight back.”

“Six. Act out of love, not out of fear. My master has the right to do whatever she wants to me. I will act out of love for my master, and not out of fear of what she will do to me. I will show her that I love her, and that her happiness is my priority.”

“Seven. Identify with my master. As a slave, I am not an individual, I am a possession. I will identify as my master’s slave, and not as my own person. I will let myself be viewed as my master’s slave, and nothing more. I will be an extension of her. I will let her make my decisions, I will let her fulfill my needs, and I will let her do my thinking for me.”

“Eight. Be vulnerable. I will make my master’s life as pleasant as possible. I will open myself up to her, and I will trust her. I will show my master that I am vulnerable to her. I will show her that I am powerless. I will let her touch me, I will let her hurt me, and I will let her humiliate me.”

“Nine. Be adaptable. I will learn from my mistakes. I will show my master that I will bend to her will. I will be open to anything and everything my master says, even if it goes against what I want. My master’s desires will change, and I must change to suit her needs.”

“Ten. Strive for perfection. I won’t just do as I’m told, I will make my master proud. I will do everything in my power to be more than what my master expects and demands me to be, even if she doesn’t notice. The little things will mean a lot to her, and I will strive to be the best slave my master could ever wish for.” 

_Perfect. Absolutely perfect._ For the first time ever, Chloe had gotten every single word correct, from beginning to end, and she said them like she meant them. What followed was stunned silence, as she looked up at me nervously, praying to her goddess that she had finally gotten it right… and she had. 

**_Click!!_ **

_One down, eight to go. Don’t let me down._ I couldn’t have been happier, and from the expression on her face hearing the clicker go off and feeling her collar buzz against her skin, Chloe couldn’t have been happier either. There were happy tears in her eyes, and she looked like she was just about to cry. I could almost cry as well, my thumb still on the button. I wanted to give her more for her performance, but unfortunately it was still only worth one click. But it was a relief to know that if she managed to be at her best today, she just might make it. “Very good, Sophia~”

_Wait, no. That’s not right, now I’m just deadnaming you._

The name still stuck around in my head, sometimes it just kind of slipped out. Sophia Cavalier was a very cute name, but it wasn’t **her** name. Her name was Chloe. 

She obviously was still very distraught hearing her old name being spoken, being reminded of her past life still hurt her immensely. 

_Great. There she goes, overcomplicating things in her own head again._ **_No_ ** _, this is not a test Chloe, I’m just a moron._

“Chloe. Good job, Chloe… I’m very proud of you.” 

_You can’t do this to her Candace, that’s just going to make everything worse for the poor girl._

Chloe was terrible at letting her master think for her, it’s part of what made her a world champion starcraft player, she was always thinking everything through as far as she could think. But a starcraft champion wasn’t what I wanted from her, I want a **slave**. “Eyes on me slave, you’re overthinking it.”

“Yes, Master!” She quickly snapped to attention, looking up at me before quickly adjusting her gaze to look downward. “Sorry, Master.”

“Not everything is a test, doll… Sometimes it really is just an accident.” I almost wanted to relent and click the button again just to make it up for that, but that quick moment of glancing up at me wasn’t something I could just ignore. She can’t do that, she made a mistake, and she knows that. That’s why she corrected herself. _Patience Candace, she’ll get there… Don’t get trigger happy…_

“My apologies, Master.” Chloe was getting better at acting without being told **exactly** what to do, and she knew enough to know that bowing to show forgiveness was an appropriate thing for her to do. 

And then I felt her soft plush lips kissing the top of my bare foot. 

_Awww… someone’s becoming a bootlicker… I can’t just let_ **_that one_ ** _go~_

**_Click!!_ **

Chloe smiled eagerly, almost immediately repeating the same mistake, and looking up at me to see my expression. I couldn’t let **that** go either, but the deed was already done, and she’d already received one of her coveted clicks. Now she just needed to receive a boot to the back of her head~

“Come on now, you have to get those little eyes of yours under control… Just focus on those feet you like to kiss so much~” I pressed my foot into the back of her head, shoving her forehead into the ground. 

“I’m sorry, Miss.” She was relaxed under my foot, a marvellous improvement over the first time she had found herself beneath my boot. She was becoming more comfortable with being punished and humiliated. In fact, if I didn’t know better I would almost say that she was slowly starting to like it.

“Do you like being degraded, slave?” I’d seen her search history, I know what kind of kinks the girl had before she’d gotten here, and degradee was not a title I would have ascribed to her back then. But maybe that had changed?

“If it makes you happy, Ma’am… yes, I do.” Smart answer, correct answer, but I wanted an honest answer. There was no way that she was going to just answer with a ‘no’, and she was a fairly good liar. As far as her playstyle went, she had a solid poker face. Sophia Cavalier has no tell. But **she’s** not Sophia Cavalier, why do I keep thinking of her like that? Why hasn’t that image of her in my head been replaced by the loyal and grovelling slave I now find beneath my foot. Was it really such an inseparable part of her? I had to know. “Go make me breakfast, Chloe, and no eating any of my food.”

As soon as my foot was back on the floor, the girl sprung into action, not needing to be told anything further. I, meanwhile, settled myself into the dining room table, not bothering to actually watch to make sure that she didn’t sneak some food into her mouth, she wasn’t wearing a muzzle after all. 

Was this cheating? I had caught her sneaking some breakfast when she thought I wasn’t watching, and I had even given her a couple of clicks as a reward for the days where she kept her mouth away from food that wasn’t hers. But **not misbehaving** was no longer enough to be rewarded for, she needed to do well, and I couldn’t keep rewarding her for behavior she should be expected to perform regardless, not anymore. I needed to hold back, for my own sake as well as hers. 

She said nothing, kept her gaze down, and even got onto her knees as she presented my breakfast to me. _Is that enough?_ I kept finding myself constantly questioning what was enough to reward the girl for, and by the time I had actually accepted the platter from her, the moment for rewarding it had passed. “Permission to inquire, Master?” 

She didn’t have permission to speak, but at least she was asking for permission to ask a question, rather than proceeding with the question itself. It wasn’t enough to reward, but it was at least enough not to punish her for. “Proceed.”

Settling into a kneeling position next to me, and finally looking up, knowing that it was appropriate to make eye contact when she was given permission to speak, she proceeded. “I know that I’m supposed to be continuing with my tasks, but I was hoping that maybe you would let me stay here with you for a little bit, may I have permission to wait on you for a little while longer?”

“Yes, you may.” I didn’t really have anything for her to do, but I appreciated having her next to me, and I was going to be watching her closely for the whole day anyways. 

“Thank you, Master. I’ll do my best to keep quiet~” If she was acting out of fear, she wouldn’t have asked such a question in the first place, for fear of the repercussions. She knows her place, she knows her master, she’s being respectful, and most importantly she’s trying to make me happy. _Nailed it._

**_Click!!_ **

Chloe was visibly excited that she not only got to kneel beside her master, but she also was being rewarded for her performance. A few months ago she would have been growling at me, and the old punk rock misfit is still in there, but she’d come a long way. “Actually Chloe, go get your leash.” Even better, maybe I could reward her for putting on a bit of a show. “And make sure to crawl~”

It was the very same leash that she always wore, and even more adorably, when she came back with it, not only was she holding her master’s end of the leash in her mouth, but she also put in the extra effort of affixing the end to her own collar herself. I would have liked to clip the end to her collar myself however, so there was no reward for that. In fact, I might as well punish her for it. She had been doing well enough so far this morning that I could feel pretty safe in having a little bit of fun with her. 

I grabbed the leash from her mouth, watching the excited look in her eyes flashed with fear as I yanked her up onto her knees, threatening to strangle her, our eyes locked together. “Only I get to attach this leash to you, do you understand?”

“Y-yes Ma’am…” She nodded, whimpering under her breath as I released her, letting her collapse onto the floor and watching her as she once again bowed for forgiveness. _Now the fun part~_

Chloe was also getting better at being electrocuted, and I again wasn’t sure if she was beginning to enjoy it, or if she was just getting better at putting up with it. But it was absolutely wonderful to watch her writhe in pain on the floor below, knowing exactly the kind of agony she was in. My slave deserved to be punished when she did something that I disapproved of, and I disapproved of this.

But still, she was adorable, and it only took hand feeding her a few pieces of my breakfast and forcing her to bark like a dog to get her mind back where it should be. Focused on making me happy. I might be a vehement hater of dogs, but **my** puppy was too cute to stay mad at.

**_Click!!_ **

There was no arguing from the slave about being on the receiving end of some proper clicker training. “Who’s not a dog now?”

“Not me, Ma’am~” Chloe smiled eagerly, looking up at me with her usual puppy dog eyes. 

I was almost tempted to give her another click just for those cute little hazel eyes of hers, and hell, she was my property, and I had already been allowing myself to give her a click a day just for being cute~

**_Click!!_ **

Chloe was seemingly over the moon about being rewarded like this, and equally as disappointed as I detached the end of the leash from her collar, but she wasn’t going to argue with me, she knew better. “Now go and properly begin on your daily chores, I expect perfection, and I had better get perfection~”

She promptly gave me a curtsy before heading off and getting back to work. Being my handmaiden didn’t mean she would get to stop being my housemaid, that was going to be a part of her for the rest of her life, and hopefully she’s accepted that. It was a relief to see her doing so well today, she was already over halfway there, and she hadn’t even started with her job quite yet. 

Chloe of course, didn’t actually know that tonight was the deadline. I had of course told her that the deadline was the first of September, but she had no way of knowing that that was today. If she knew that it was already the first of the month, she would be freaking out thinking that she’d already missed it. Of course the deadline wasn’t “The first of September” as in “By September”, the deadline was really “By your birthday, September 2nd.” I just really wanted to reward her **on** her birthday, but she had no idea that her birthday was tomorrow. 

↞✶↠

The day proceeded as normal. She showered, I showered, I was sure to at least have covered up between my legs before I allowed her to see me. It was wonderful to know that she wouldn’t try to escape while I was in the shower, she had tried that once, it didn't make me very happy.

“I’ve started with laundry, Master.” She was bowing her head as she was supposed to, but she wasn’t saying everything that was on her mind. 

“Speak slave, what’s the matter?” I watched her hold up a bundled up ball of clothes, clutched in her hand. Her clothes, the one’s she arrived in. 

“These were… In the laundry room. They’ve been there for a while, I’ve actually had them hidden away, I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do with them.” She was nervous, finally making the decision to bring them to me and ask what was to be done with them. “I… I’ve been too nervous to tell you about them, but… I thought I would tell you now.”

“Well go on… let’s see them~” I smirked, astonished that she’d kept them hidden away from me in my own house for many months now. 

“You want me to put them on, Ma’am?”

“I do, now get on with it.”

She didn’t argue, of course she didn’t argue, she was doing her best to display perfect obedience. Yet even so, she had spent the last couple of weeks entirely naked, and she did rather like those clothes of hers, they looked awful comfy, and she did begrudgingly look awfully cute in them. But even as she finished putting them on, there was still something wrong with the outfit. “Now now, that flannel goes around your waist. You know that~”

She smiled, taking the flannel off and tying it where it was supposed to go, where I wanted it. Flannel around her waist, rainbow trimmed high tops, ripped jean shorts, and a yellow crop top. She looked amazing, but I preferred her naked. “So you’ve had this hidden away from me from day one?”

“From day two, actually… it was just in the laundry room, and I didn’t really know what to do with it… I couldn’t keep it to myself, but I didn’t want you to get rid of it.” She paused, adjusting her gaze, which she suddenly realized was a lot higher than it was supposed to be. “I guess I just felt like they were mine, and that I should be able to do what I want with them… But I was wrong, and I know that now.” She swallowed nervously, bowing slightly. “I don’t own anything, Ma’am… I’m sorry.”

**_Click!!_ **

It was good enough for me. Even I had to admit to myself that at this point I was looking for things to reward her for, desperately wanting her to succeed today. Sure, I was upset that she would keep this from me for so long, but she came clean about it anyways. Seeing her in that outfit brought me back to when we first met, it brought a little bit of Sophia Cavalier, and maybe a little bit of Sophia Cavalier was okay after all. 

“How’s about this, **Cavalier** ~” That time it was on purpose. “If you can beat me in a match of starcraft… I might just let you keep them~”

She froze. If hearing her own name was enough to frazzle her, being challenged to a match of starcraft must have been decimating for her. But I needed to test this out, I needed to test out her ability to stay obedient and loyal, even while being reminded of her past life. Plus, I really wanted a rematch. I really did want to beat her this time. 

“A-after dinner you mean, Ma’am?” She quickly regained an almost adequate composure, but the pistons were still clearly firing in her brain, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. “I-I’ve already started cooking.”

“After dinner it is, slave.” I smiled, opening up my closet door to fetch myself some clothes, shooing the girl away to get back to work. “Don’t ruin my dinner tonight~”

“I won’t, Ma’am~!!!” 

_What the fuck am I doing?? This isn’t going to help her get to 100 clicks??_

I froze. The closet door shut behind me, Chloe couldn’t tell because I remained calm and composed around her, but behind closed doors, I was a fucking wreck. I had no idea what I was doing, just jumping from whim to whim just to pass the time, occasionally stopping to watch my favorite possession do her job on my cameras between starcraft matches. **Chloe was more figured out than I was.**

I slid to the tile below, leaning against the door behind me as I fumbled for my phone, doing the one thing I always did when I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. 

I called Aria.

↞✶↠

“Dinner is served, Master.” 

There she is, using her favorite title for me. Chloe seemed to be doing a lot better, and after a quick call with my best friend, so was I. 

I was closer with Aria Fairmont than I was with even Malcolm or Leah, but Chloe wouldn’t know that because Aria never came around the mansion anymore. It took me a while to figure out why, but eventually I realized that she felt the same way my father did about my new slave. 

She hated Chloe. More accurately, Aria was sort of disgusted by the idea of keeping slaves, or perhaps she was actually more disgusted at the slaves themselves, knowing that she didn’t seem to be morally against me keeping a slave. She just seemed to prefer staying away from the girl. That much I didn’t really mind, Aria was a public figure much like Sophia and I, and we were known associates of each other, she was my best friend, and it didn’t much matter if she hated Chloe or not.

I loved Chloe, and Chloe loved me. At least I hoped Chloe loved me, it was after all difficult to tell when she was hiding something from me, her poker face was nearly unmatched among the profession. Deep down, there was still a lingering fear that she was playing the long con with me, plotting some sort of plan to go through with killing me and finally escaping from my grasp, and the thought of that made my heart ache. “You aren’t just trying to trick me so that you can make some grand escape, are you Chloe?” 

Her eyes quickly darted up at me in surprise before quickly looking away. “No, Ma’am!! Why?!” Her breath quickened, her heart began to beat out of her chest, and I could almost hear the thoughts rattling around inside of her head. “Did I do something wrong?!”

“No, dearest…” I sighed, taking dinner from her hands, just that I could set it down and hold her hands instead. “Calm down… I’m just testing your loyalty…”

She squeezed my hands as hard as she could, dropping to her knees at my side and bowing her head. “I’m in this for you… I swear…”

I planted a kiss on the back of her hand and smiled, letting go of her hands and tilting her chin up to look at me. “I know you are~”

**_Click!!_ **

That fixed it, I couldn’t help but to share in the happiness that I could see spreading into her glistening hazel eyes. **My** glistening hazel eyes. Those eyes belonged to me, and I wasn’t about to let them get away from me. 

“Thank you, Master.” Chloe smiled, her cheeks turning pink. “Permission to sit in your lap?”

“Permission granted~”

We finished dinner together, before moving into the gaming room. Chloe was visibly nervous, unsure of whether or not she actually wanted to play with me. She was sure this was a test, and it was, but I did genuinely just want to play with her. I wanted to see how much of Sophia Cavalier was left in her, but I also just wanted to enjoy playing a match against my future bride. Chloe’s hands were trembling as she held the mouse, and I knew very well that her hands were usually quite steady. 

“It’s okay Chloe, just do your best~” My words seemed to help soothe Chloe. Her mentality really was changing, and she was beginning to need to rely on me for support, but that was alright. That’s what I wanted, that’s what was natural for a slave, to rely on their master for everything. To make their master happy in exchange for a place to exist, beneath them. Chloe belongs beneath me. 

But there was one thing that had been bothering me all day, Sophia Cavalier. I had tried to bury my archrival for good, but sometimes she came bubbling back up to the surface, and I wanted a rematch. I wanted to defeat Sophia Cavalier, fair and square. No tricks or cheats this time, just a real proper rematch. 

But Chloe threw the match. 

I wanted to defeat Sophia Cavalier fair and square, but Chloe threw the match, and there was my problem. 

I wasn’t playing against Sophia Cavalier, I was playing against Chloe. 

This wasn’t a rematch between CSt.C vs. SoCavalier, because Chloe wasn’t signed in as SoCavalier, she was signed in as CSt.C(1), both physically and mentally. She wasn’t playing like Sophia would play, she was playing like Chloe would play.

She wasn’t her own Sarah Kerrigan, she was a zergling. She was my zergling, and I was Sarah Kerrigan. 

But what was wrong with that, I wanted her to be my zergling, so I made her into my zergling. 

Of course Chloe threw the match. She’s Chloe, she’s a slave, she’s only concerned about her making her master happy. If her master wanted to beat her in a game of starcraft, she was going to let her master win in a game of starcraft, even if it meant losing, especially if it meant losing. She wanted to show her master that she was beneath her. She was my zergling. She was my slave. 

She was doing everything right. 

**_Click!!_ **

I gave her a click for her efforts, but I still wasn’t happy, and she could tell. 

“What’s wrong, Master?” She turned her seat around to face me. She sounded like Sophia, and in those clothes of hers she looked like Sophia, but she wasn’t Sophia. 

“You threw the match.” Chloe was doing everything right. But she wasn’t Sophia Cavalier, and I wanted to play against Sophia Cavalier. 

“I’m sorry.” Chloe really didn’t know what to say. She knew very well that she had thrown the match, it was bloody obvious. But she thought that was okay, what was she supposed to do? Win? Trying her best and losing would have been the ideal outcome, but she knew that if she tried her best there was also a very good chance of her winning the match, and she couldn’t win the match knowing how much I wanted to beat her. “I just really wanted you to win, Ma’am.”

“I just wanted to beat you in a fair match.” I didn’t know what to say either, she was doing her best, and that’s what counted. “I’m not upset Chloe, I’m just disappointed I suppose.”

“Are you going to punish me, Master?” What a wonderful girl, asking to be punished. I would give her another click for that too, but it would have made it worse for the girl, and it really wasn’t her place to tell me when to punish her. 

“Dearest, are you telling me to punish you?”

“I think you should.”

“It’s not your place to decide when you should get punished, Chloe. Use your brain.”

“Am I supposed to use my brain, or am I supposed to use my heart, Ma’am, which is it?”

“They aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“Are they not? Because if not why are they saying two completely different things?”

“And what are they saying to you?”

“My heart says stay. But my brain says run...”

I gritted my teeth. She had been doing so well, but something had been rattled inside of her, and I wasn’t quite sure what had done it. Regardless of whether it had been the game or the disconnect between what she was receiving and perceiving was besides the point. Talking back like this was unacceptable, and she knew that. “Go finish your chores, and then get ready for bed.”

Chloe was a tough girl, she always had been. She didn’t cry, but she seemed to be just as disappointed in herself as I was. She immediately regretted letting those words come out of her mouth, and she couldn’t really recover from that. Chloe could take a backhand to the face just fine, but just seeing my disappointment in her stung deeper than a slap to the face could, and that was punishment enough. “I’m sorry, Master…”

She wasn’t to get a click for her behavior if she was going to be like that. But she was already at 99 clicks, and there was nothing she could do that would prevent her from earning that last click before the night was over. 

Except fall apart, which she did. 

I was a wreck behind closed doors, but Chloe couldn’t manage to pull herself back together, even in front of her master. She so desperately wanted to impress me, but after a show like that, it was going to take more than **not** exhibiting bad behavior to earn a reward from me. But whenever I came to observe her she recoiled, curling in on herself, retreating back into her shell. She had settled for trying not to upset me, rather than trying to impress me, and it worked, but I wanted to be impressed. There was nothing that Chloe did for the rest of the night to earn that one hundredth click, and I was running out of options. I wanted to go to bed.  
  


Chloe needed to be brought back in line, and it clearly wasn’t happening tonight. She had failed me right at the end when I expected perfection. I deserved perfection. I deserved to be able to get what I wanted, and if she wasn’t able to give it to me, she didn’t deserve me. 

“Come along, let’s get you to bed, you’re going to have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

“Where am I sleeping tonight, Master?”

“In your cell, where you belong.”

“Yes, Master…”

She had no reason to be upset about not reaching her quota in time, she had no idea that tonight was the deadline, and she was more than used to being put away in her cell until further use. 

“Would you like me to begin now, or wait until I’m in my cell?” Chloe eagerly followed me, her gaze pointed down at those feet that she so desperately liked to kiss. 

“Begin what, slave?” I was tired, and I didn’t have much energy left to do anything more with her tonight, opening the doors to her cell was enough of a chore. 

“My recitations, Master.” Chloe smiled, looking up at me for just a moment before adjusting her gaze back downwards. “I assume that just because I got them right this morning doesn’t mean that I’m done reciting them, right? I need to have them memorized as soon as I can. I want your father to be proud of you when he comes to visit.”

 _Her guidelines, right. She wants to recite them again._ I was pleasantly surprised that even after the night ended like it did, Chloe was asking for permission to recite the tenets of her life as a slave back to me, just to help her memorize them. “And what were those guidelines, Chloe… recite them to me~”

I hung onto her every word, listening intently to the careful confidence in her voice as she once again repeated the guidelines back to me word for word, perfectly. But she was overthinking it again, like she always does. Sitting down and playing the game with her made me realize that Chloe was treating those guidelines like rules she needed to follow, as if they were something she needed to follow to the letter. But she wasn’t the only one doing something wrong, so was I. _‘...rules?’_ Her constantly ticking mind needed some set of tangible rules to follow. 

We were both too focused on the guidelines. I had been rewarding her for how well she followed those guidelines, and not based on whether she made me happy, and that wasn’t fair to her, because she almost always made me happy. 

“Those guidelines really are just guidelines Chloe, they aren’t rules.”

“I know, Master. I just-”

“Remember the guidelines, but don’t get obsessed with them. Going against one of your tenets isn’t the same as breaking a rule.”

“But how will I know how to behave?”

“If your little gamer brain needs rules, then I’ll give you rules.” The door into Chloe’s cell was already wide open, I stepped in and took a seat on the stone bench built into the opposite wall, gesturing with one finger for her to follow me inside. “But I’m the only one allowed to punish you… so I would suggest that you stop punishing yourself for your own bad behavior.”

She stepped into the center of the small stone bunker, nervously looking over at me instead of glaring down at the ground. I did very much like seeing those beautiful eyes of hers, and right now I wanted to see them cry. 

“A bet is a bet loser, no more playing dress up as a starcraft champion. Strip.” 

She frowned, a faint blush slowly burning its way into her cute little cheeks as she stripped herself bare before her master’s eyes. “Where do you want them, Ma’am?”

“I don’t care as long as they’re off of you.” I bit my tongue excitedly, patting my lap for her to come sit in it. “But I want you right here.”

I could **hear** the words in her head as she thought them. _She’s going to spank me…_ But as expected, she graciously offered herself to me, gently bending herself over my knee to spare me the effort of having to make her. “Such a smart girl… hopefully this will teach you just how to use that stupid little brain of yours~”

“What **exactly** am I being punished for… **Ma’am**?” Chloe spat back at me before I could begin, almost ferociously. “I thought you weren’t going to punish me.”

“So you’ve saved all of your fighting spirit for this, have you?” Without warning, I brought my palm down on Chloe’s bare bottom, watching in delight as a stinging torrent of pain made its way through her. “I wasn’t going to punish you for throwing the match, but I am going to punish you for your **insolence**.”

She winced, biting her bottom lip. I could feel her body trembling in my lap as I ran my fingers across her skin. Her soft plush ass was like dough in my hands as I squeezed it, and I could see that she wanted to growl at me for it. “Head down my little bootlicker, keep your eyes on those toes that you love to suck.”

I carelessly curled my fingers in her fluffy orange hair, forcing her head downward and holding it there so that she couldn’t move it even if she tried. She jerked as she was swatted, her cute little butt quickly turning peach as it was spanked. Peach looked good in her hair, but it looked even better on her ass. _Oh Chloe~_

I would have been lying if I said that I didn’t want her to fight back just a little bit, it made it even more fun to put her back in line. She struggled against me as I continued to spank her, pushing back against my hands, cursing under her breath. “Fuck…” 

I quickly cut her off with another slap to her ass, turning her expletives into a high pitched yelp. After a few good minutes of going at her as hard as I could, I clutched onto her hair and violently tilted her head back to look at me, admiring the tears in the corners of her eyes, her face now bright red. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry… Master…” She choked on her own sobs, desperately trying not to burst into tears. “I’m not going to run, I promise…”

“You should know by now that the edge of tears is not where I want you~” I curled my hand around her cute pink little cunt, pressing my fingers into her slit, feeling the excitement growing between my legs as well as hers, as she slowly began to drip into the palm of my hand.

“Mmmph…” She moaned through her lips, arching her back slightly, trying to ever so slightly pull herself off of my fingers. 

I caught her by the back of her scalp and shook my head, pushing her back down. My two fingers pressed further into her cute little slit, sliding in all the way to my knuckles. “Cry.”

I could see how hard she was trying not to, but it only took a few moments of gently pumping my fingers in and out of her to bring her to tears. 

She whined loudly. There was the feisty girl that I knew and loved. I only needed my fingers to bring her to orgasm, but she wasn’t getting an orgasm. I wasn’t giving one to her, I was punishing her. I was only doing this to make her cry. “Louder.”

This wasn’t to torment her, that was never the point. The point was to whittle her down slowly, to chip away at that rebellious streak she has hidden in her. This had all started out as punishment for the world championship, but it had evolved into so much more. This was about me asserting my dominance over her, showing her who’s in charge, teaching her to lean on me, her master.

She had changed, and so had I. I no longer wanted to punish her for what she did to me, I had forgiven her. I didn’t want to torture her anymore, I just wanted to train her, to subjugate her. This wasn’t about revenge anymore, this was about love. I loved her, and I couldn’t let go of her.

I squeezed her one last time, pushing her over the edge before slipping my fingers back out. She didn’t orgasm, but she cried, and she cried loudly. 

It was cathartic for me to see her like this, and I’m sure it was equally cathartic for her. She needed a release, not a sexual one, but an emotional one. She had been shouldering the burden of a lot of stress and expectations and she deserved to be relieved. She deserved to be rewarded. 

I lifted her from my lap, sitting her up and allowing her to lean into me, burying her sobbing head into my chest as I gently ran my fingers through her hair, rubbing the back of her worried little head gently. “It’s okay doll, keep going~”

Yes, it had been a punishment, but she deserved to be rewarded. I pulled the clicker from my pocket and held it behind her so that she couldn’t see it.

_This isn’t a game, Candace. This is her life._

I sighed. Chloe wasn’t getting a one hundredth click. She didn’t need one, and I didn’t need to give her one. 

She was getting a birthday celebration, not because she got the clicker to go off 100 times…. But because I wanted to give her one, and that was all the reason I needed. 

She continued to cry. A few months ago I would have sat here and mocked her, watching her curl up into the corner and sob.

But I was gonna ride this out with her. I was going to sit here and hold her, letting her cry for as long as she needed, and then make sure she was safe and sound. 

_Aww hell, I should have gotten her a little dog bed for in here, that would be so cute~_

It took a while, but eventually she calmed down, gently nestling into me as we sat there. “Hey, Chloe?”  
“Mm.” Chloe’s only response was a little bit of motion and a small mumble to let me know that she was listening. 

“You’ve gotta sleep in here tonight, okay? We have a big day tomorrow.”

She nodded, and that was enough to signal for me that it was okay to set her down, locking her away in her cell for the night, and gently turning the lights in there off for her. “You’re going to make a great addition to this family~”

I settled into my bed, the small gold bell in hand. She was going to get this bell, because the only thing that mattered was whether or not she made me happy.

And she always made me happy~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the little birthday story i wrote for Chloe, which came out on September 2nd (over two months ago)  
> [ Birthday Girl ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26257027)  
> 


	14. Communication Error

“Good morning, servant.” Candace grumbled to herself as she sat down at one of the seats in the kitchen, rather than sitting down in the dining room to eat as she usually did, wanting to be as close to me as she could be. “I don’t remember telling you that you were allowed out of bed before I was.”

The stove was on, breakfast was cooking, and that was the only reason I was already out of bed. “I was just preparing food, Ma’am.”

“And is using the master bathroom part of food preparation now, slave?”

Now **that** I was guilty of. **_Zap_ ** **.** My knees shook and wobbled as she sent a surge of electricity through me. 

“Consider this letting you off the hook easy, now get me a drink.” Candace was unusually grumpy this morning, and for good reason. 

“Yes, Ma’am. I’m sorry, Ma’am.” I quickly fetched her a glass of tea. “The door to my bathroom was locked, and I didn’t want to wake you… and I know how much you hate me pissing on your floors.”

“Sound like a lose lose scenario to me, oh well~” She smiled to herself, slowly sipping her tea. 

“Is something the matter, Master?” I returned to the stove, flipping breakfast over so that it didn’t burn. “Is it about tomorrow?”

“Of course it’s about tomorrow.” She sighed to herself. “Don’t ask stupid questions… and speak when spoken to!!”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am… I’m making pancakes, if that helps~” 

“You’ve never made pancakes, what’s the occasion?”

“There’s no occasion, you’ve just never told me to make pancakes… they’re not easy, you know.”  
“Then what’s different about today, thrall?”

I stopped, sighing loudly to myself as I flipped the pancakes over one final time. “I’m nervous about tomorrow too, Master…”

Candace frowned, nodding her head. “I can tell… but that attitude isn’t helping you.” 

“Yes, Ma’am…I couldn’t fall back asleep… I needed to do something.” I started plating the pancakes and serving them to Candace, putting them all on a single plate, assuming that I wasn’t actually going to get any of them. “So I decided to serve, is that not my place, Master?”

“The problem isn’t your dedication to service, Chloe…” She held out her already empty glass for a refill. “The problem is doing so in the brattiest way possible.”

I refilled it as quickly as I could and brought it back to her. “I thought you liked brattiness from time to time, you said it was endearing?”

“I do enjoy it, Chloe. But it’s not going to fly tomorrow, you know that…”

“I’m sorry…” We weren’t married, yet here we were, bickering. “Maybe it’d be good to get all of my bratiness out of the way before tomorrow, Ma’am?”

“Oh, you think so?” She took the glass from my hand. “I suppose I can consider it, you are already acting up without permission, after all~”

“Brattiness isn’t a product of permission, Master.” 

“Shut up and sit down~” She kicked out the chair next to her, demanding that I stop pacing around in the kitchen and relax for just a few seconds. I sat, turning to face her just in time to see her reach her hand under my chin and tilt my head up to look directly into her eyes. “You can be a brat if you want, but run your pretty little mouth off at me one more time and you will be getting punished for it~”

She just knew how much I liked hearing that. Eugh, I really was a brat, and I wasn’t very proud of it. I had been locked away and relegated to the position of housemaid, but I was her handmaiden now, and I wanted to enjoy a few of the privileges I was granted as personal slave to Candace St. Clair. I wanted to misbehave just a little bit, but I knew that there was no time left to misbehave.

Tomorrow night was the night I met Candace’s father, and we were both terribly nervous about it. 

“You’re welcome to be challenging at any time, but don’t think you’ll ever be allowed to get away with it, okay?”

She was my world. Everything revolved around her. It was only through her that I could continue to exist. She was my only source for rules and guidelines. _Guidelines._

“Would you like me to recite my guidelines now, Master?”

Candace answered wordlessly, and so I did, but by the time I was finished she had a strangely hungry look in her eyes. 

Our relationship had evolved in many ways, but it was far from perfect. 

It was full of love and passion at the best of times, but it was downright abusive in the worst of times.

I was to marry Candace St. Clair, and join one of the five families, and I had accepted that. But we were both struggling to convert what we had started off as into a genuine relationship. 

Candace had grown up as a part of one of the most corrupt and abusive families on the planet, she had been born Cardinal St. Clair, named after her father, and despite trying desperately not to turn out as her father’s son, she had grown up to be just as abusive as her father was.

Yet despite knowing how abusive she and her family was, I was doing my best to try and fit in with that family. I was trying to impress that abusive father of hers, because despite how abusive Candace had turned out to be, she loved me, and I loved her. 

“Alright, have it your way Chloe~” Candace smiled and shook her head at me in disbelief. “If you want to get the brattiness out of the way today, then I will help beat it out of you~”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” I bowed to her, my last show of respect before I start to misbehave. “Do you think I’m ready?”

“I don’t really know, and I don’t really-” Candace started and then paused, sighing to herself. “You had better be, or else I don’t know what I’m going to do…”

“...Do you think your father will like me?”

“I really hope he does, or else it’s bye bye brat girl.”

“You couldn’t just go behind his back to keep me?”

“That’s complicated, Chloe… He could have me killed if he really wanted to.”

“He wouldn’t-”

“My **mother** was killed by the family, Chloe… don’t underestimate the kinds of things they can do.”

I froze. I never really stopped to think about the implications of that. Of Candace’s own family having her mother euthanized. What kind of monsters must they be to do something like that to her, especially knowing that she’s the daughter of the family’s patriarch. It was despicable.

I watched her stand, beginning to walk behind me, feeling her twist her fingers in my hair and pull me to my feet and drag me back to the kitchen, scolding me in her emotionless tone as she let go, tossing me forward and walking away. “Get to work.”

I growled under my breath, just about ready to turn around and pounce on her, but by the time I had regained my balance she was on the phone, getting ready to open the secret door to her basement. “...How the fuck do you even have a basement in florida anyways?”

I turned back around to start my work, hearing her shout at me one last time before going downstairs. “With a lot of fucking money is how~!!”

↞✶↠

And so I got to work, it wasn’t hard, especially after so many months of doing it. She hadn’t even directed me on which room to deep clean today, not that that was difficult either, considering that half of the rooms were unused anyways. 

“Meewwww~"

 _What was that?_ I spun around in place right there in the hallway, the hem of my apron spinning with me. Thea never made sounds like that, so it must be…

“Mewww~!!!!” I felt one of the cats rubbing her cheek against my ankles, desperate for scratches behind her ears. Thea never did that either, she was a silent menace, black as the night, and I hardly ever noticed her. She did her best to stay away from me, never wanted my attention, never shed, and stayed in her room most of the time anyway, despite there being a cat door for her to come through.

“Sophia…” I looked down at my ankles, seeing the calico kitten at my feet begging for my attention. She was still small, but she had gotten bigger, big enough to be able to leave her pen on her own for the first time. “You’re not supposed to be out here, kiddo~”

Sophia said nothing, of course she said nothing, she’s a cat, and I was just a hopeless and desperate moron for wanting to have a conversation with a cat. This was the point where I would just step on her, or kick her away in anger… okay maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I didn’t really like cats. This was the point where I actually should have just been looking for things to kill my time with, extra busywork until Candace needs me, like putting Sophia back in her pen.

But Candace was expecting to beat the brattiness out of me today, wasn’t she?

“Come here, scratchy~” I leaned down, picking her up with both hands and lifting her into the air, careful not to squish her on accident… or on purpose. “Let’s go mess with your mom, okay?”

The door into Candace’s room was so silent it was almost creepy, back where I used to live my door creaked so badly that it couldn’t be opened without waking up my neighbors. “Geez Sophia, how come Candace lets **_you_ ** walk around without a collar or a harness?”

_Really? Am I really honestly jealous of a cat now?_

She was downstairs, and that meant she was probably on the cameras, right? That was where she went when I couldn’t see her, wasn’t it?

I sat down on the bed, having finished my required amount of work for the day, and I set Sophia down with me. I wasn’t being insolent, I was just waiting. If Candace came on the intercom right now and gave me a task to fulfill, I would hop up to my feet and do it, but she didn’t.

“...Are you… in my bed right now?” The intercom kicked on, and I could hear her flabbergasted voice, not upset or angry, just confused. 

“I’m done for the day, Ma’am.” I lifted my collar to my mouth slightly so that she could hear me. “Besides, you scolded me for getting out of bed too early this morning anyways~”

“……” I could just picture her down there, sitting in shocked silence. “…What do you mean you’re **done** ? You’re never **done** , not until I tell you you’re done.”

“Well, do you have anything else for me to do, Ma’am?”

“Oh!! So what, you need me to tell you how to do your job now, slave?”

“Of course not, I’ve finished everything that’s required of me-”

“You’ve never needed me to give you **busywork** , Chloe. You can find that on your own time.”

“I don’t really want to, Miss… unless you have something for me to do I just… don’t really want to find busywork.”

“Well, for starters, you can get Sophia out of my room before she sheds all over my bed, you have to sleep in that too, you know.”

 _Shit, she’s right._ I quickly scooped Sophia back into my lap, picking her up off of the bed before she got cat hair everywhere. “You haven’t even assigned me an extra room to clean… I take Sophia back out and then what, Ma’am?”

“And **then** , you can clean the parlor chandelier.” 

“The parlor chandelier?” I froze, taking in what she said. Chandeliers were the most grueling task she could possibly give me, so bad that I only had to clean one of them per month, and even then… I’d never actually cleaned the parlor chandelier, according to Candace, it was the most difficult one in the whole house, and the most dangerous as well, given how tall the ceiling in the parlor was. I didn’t know **how** to clean the parlor chandelier, and I could get seriously hurt just trying. 

“Are you actually mad at me, Ma’am?”

“I…” Candace was still on the intercom, and she sounded even more confused now than when we had started. “…What?”

“I’m not really trying to upset you, Ma’am, I swear.” I stammered, unable to read her tone or her expression or her body language, nothing. Anything at all. I need to see her, I need something to go off of, I need something to read, something to analyze. That’s what I was good at, analyzing, but not from this distance. “Please… I’m sorry, I don’t want you to be mad at me. I was just trying to be challenging, I-”

“Wait, Chloe. Slow down.” She sounded concerned now. “What happened?”

“I was just being a brat, Ma’am.” 

“...Is that what this is?”

“I’m not trying to upset you, I swear-” I choked, unsure of what exactly was happening to me, feeling like my heart was slowly being squeezed. “I- I’m ready to impress your father, I promise-”

I waited for a few moments, but there was no response. 

_Fuck. What did I do wrong? What do I do now? What’s going to happen? Is she really upset at me?_

“Breathe, Chloe. Breathe.” 

I didn’t even realize I was on the floor crying to myself until Candace was at my side, she must have gotten up from her seat to check on me before she even heard the last thing I said. “That’s it, we’re done with that, no more being a brat for today.”

“M-ma’am, I-”

“There’s a hairbrush on my bathroom sink, go get it.” She silenced me, handing me a direct order to follow so that I could get a hold of myself. “Now.”

 _Get a hold of yourself…_ I leapt to my feet immediately, letting her words flow into my brain and take over my body, helping me to complete my task and return to her side.

“I thought I recalled telling you to stop punishing yourself for your own bad behavior.” She was sitting in bed, her cat in her lap as she watched me walk back in. “Yet still I come up here to find you curled up in a ball sobbing to yourself.’

“I’m sorry, Ma’am.”

“There’s no more room for sorry, Chloe.” She shook her head, setting Sophia to the side and patting her lap. “The bedroom doors are locked, come put yourself over my knee.”

“Am I getting punished, Ma’am…” I swallowed nervously, trying not to choke on my words. “Are you actually upset at me?”

“I wouldn’t be punishing you if I wasn’t upset at you, Chloe.” She didn’t have a very happy look on her face. She stood, grabbing my ear by the cattle tag and dragging me back to bed with her, putting me over her knee herself, ripping the hairbrush from my hand. “But I’m not upset at you for being a brat, I’m upset at you for self-destructing like that. If you can’t handle being a brat without beating yourself up over it, then you shouldn’t do it…”

I hid my face behind my hands as I laid there on the bed over her lap, trying not to cry before she even got started. “Candace…”

“Give me control, Chloe.” Candace gently placed the backside of the wooden hairbrush onto my bare ass, sweeping my apron out of the way. “I’m going to fix you now.”

“F-fix me? What do- OWWW!!” She brought the hairbrush down on my ass, forcing a pained squeal out of my mouth.

“Don’t question it. Submit.” 

_Submit. Right. My submission. That’s what’s- OWWWW!!!_

My thoughts were shattered in my head before I could even finish thinking them, feeling Candace smack me with the hairbrush again. She put her hand to the back of my head as soon as I tried to sit up, gently pushing my head down to the blankets below. “Head down, ass up.”

I did as I was told, burying my face in the faux furs below as Candace continued to spank my ass with a hairbrush. My hands curled into the blankets and after just a few minutes I felt myself sobbing once again. 

I felt her gently petting my hair as she held my head down, she wasn't trying to suffocate me by burying my face in the blankets, she was just trying to exert her dominance over me, and I let her. I wanted that, Candace was my world, and even though it was painful, being over her knee like I was brought me great joy. It brought me closer to her. 

It made me happy. 

I curled up in her lap, my face red with tears by the time she was done spanking me. She broke the hairbrush on my ass in trying to beat me back into submission, but at least she had succeeded in suppressing my bratty tendencies. 

“I- I’m sorry a-about the hairbrush…”

“It’s the hairbrush that you want to apologize for?” She smirked at me, mocking me for being the one to apologize for the hairbrush snapping into two on my ass. “Don’t you have other things you should be apologizing for, slave?”

“I’m sorry for not doing my work, Ma’am…” I lowered my head in shame, my clamped shut eyes still wet with tears. 

“Apology accepted…” Candace placed one hand on my cheek, lifting my face up to meet hers, waiting for me to open my eyes for continuing. “Now I want you to try not to break down like that again.”

“Breakdown?” I bit my lip, she was referring to me having a panic attack here in her room after our conversation over the intercom. 

“Did you lose the ability to be a brat over the last couple of weeks?” She smirked at me, picking up the barely functioning hairbrush and beginning to straighten my short head of hair with it.

“I don’t know, Ma’am. please don’t make fun of me…” I felt my head leaning into the hairbrush to make it easier for her.

“I’ll make fun of you whenever I want, sweetie.”

Sweetie. I really did like the sound of that. It was nice. Being hers was nice. 

“I’m going to do my best tomorrow, I promise…” I took a deep breath, sitting up straight in her lap, ready to do my best for her, watching Candace’s cat climb back into my lap again.

“Looks like Sophia likes you, huh?” Candace smiled, setting the hairbrush down on her nightstand.

“Why did you give her my name, Ma’am?” I took Sophia into my hands, holding her as I stood up.

“To make fun of you, of course~” She stood after me, leading me out of the room with her. “We’re having guests in the parlor tomorrow, I want the chandelier cleaned tonight.”

↞✶↠

We slowly raised the chandelier back to the ceiling once we were done. It was difficult at first, the parlor being so tall meant that the chandelier only lowered about halfway down the height of the room, though I wasn’t sure that she didn’t just want me on a ladder so that she could ogle at me from below.

Candace of course, didn’t lift a finger to help, but she did watch, and she did help guide me through it. Then once I was done, she sent me off to get dressed. Candace didn’t usually make me dress up, I spent several weeks completely naked and only recently did she start having me wear an apron, my new uniform, and she makes me wear my leather harness beneath it at all times now. 

I was in Candace’s wardrobe room when I heard a knock on the door into the room. 

“O-one moment, I’ll be right out!” I responded automatically, still trying to choose between two dresses that I had picked out, red or blue. But hearing the knock on the door to hurry me up, I quickly picked the red one, nervously trying to dress myself as I heard yet another knock on the door. 

“I’m coming, Ma’am, I promise.” It was a little bit odd for her to be knocking on the door. The door wasn’t even locked, and if she wasn’t knocking on the door to tell me to hurry up, why was she knocking?

“Cumming already, puppy?” 

_Oh no._ I opened the door and froze as I looked up at her. That wasn’t Candace at all. _What is_ **_she_ ** _doing here?_

“I haven’t even started playing with you, fuckmeat. You can’t _already_ be finished~”

I sighed in exasperation, lowering my head in confusion, unsure of what I was supposed to do in this situation. I knew how to address and treat Candace, but I didn’t know how to address **her**. “Hello, Mrs. Griffin…”

“Awe, you’re not going to keep calling me _Ma’am?_ ” Liz giggled, fake pouting at me, her hands on her curvy and clearly fake hips. “Booooo, that’s lame.”

_Her father isn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow, why are her brother and his slave here?_

“Apologies, Ma’am…” I coughed, grumbling to myself under my breath as I tried to look down, as was appropriate when faced with superiors, even those who I didn’t respect. “The Mistress didn’t tell me we were expecting guests **tonight** …”

“Candace called us up this morning and asked us to stay the night!” Liz smirked, looking me up and down in the most condescending way possible for another slave to do. “Poor little thing… Guess she didn’t tell you we were coming, huh?”

 _Staying the night?_ I glanced up at her, noticing that she wasn’t moving from the doorway, preventing me from being able to walk back out into the hallway. Candace didn’t usually have houseguests, especially so intrusive ones like Elizabeth here, and even when she did I had never heard of her letting them stay the night. “Mr. Griffin is here too, then?”

“Well of course he is, dummy.” Liz scoffed sarcastically, mocking me for making such an obvious observation. “Master is with his kid sister now, finding us a room.”

 _His kid sister?_ I snarled under my breath, it was actually upsetting to hear a fellow slave referring to Candace as something so informal and disrespectful, to my face no less. _His kid sister, really? That’s how you’re going to refer to her?_

“Your Master’s kid sister is **my** Master.” _Attack dog mode activated._ I couldn’t stop myself, maybe I was too smitten with Candace to disrespect her to her face, but Liz clearly wasn’t above disrespecting Candace, so I wasn’t above disrespecting Liz. “Please show my Master the respect she deserves, **slave**.”

“Did you just call _me_ a slave??” I watched as Liz’s eyes went wide eyed, a huge grin on her lips as she gasped with disbelief. “So the puppy has teeth, does she?”

“When you disrespect her owner, yes…” I smirked, trying and failing to avert my gaze back downwards as I watched the expression on her face. 

“I’m surprised she even let you out of your cage.” Liz lifted her eyebrow, snickering maliciously at me. “I thought that even I was above Candace’s bootlicking little idiot.”

“Maybe a month ago you were~” I smiled, nodding my head and trying to push past her. “If you’ll excuse me-”

“Nope!!” Liz continued to block the doorway, her big tits and round ass making it impossible to go around her… as well as impossible for me to take my useless lesbian eyes off of her. “Candace told me to make sure that you don’t go somewhere you’re not supposed to~”

 _Where in the house are Candace and Cyrus that I can’t follow them?_ I paused, biting my lip as I patiently waited, hoping that she would move out of my way. “The guest bedroom… right. I won’t follow them inside, I know better.”

“Oh, you know better?” Liz stepped forward into the room with me, pushing me backwards slowly. “What, you can learn things now? How’d that happen?”

I stepped backwards, trying not to let the other woman touch me. “With a little bit of tough love… and Master’s encouragement.”

“Tough love sounds about right, my Master had to break my legs to get me to behave… but I guess a natural submissive like you is too soft for that, huh?” Liz followed closely, still preventing me from reaching the door. “So what, have you learned to love it yet?”

“Love what? You mean Candace?”

“Do you love slavery yet, stupid?”

“I am not stupid, and I most certainly don’t love slavery!!”

“Oh really? Is that so, Chloe?” Before Liz could respond back, I heard another voice from the doorway behind her. _Candace’s voice_. “Did you hear that, brother… maybe I should go ahead and send my little brat to the facility right here and now~”

“M-Master, I-”

“You want to take that back, don’t you?” 

“I do, Ma’am.” I pushed past Liz, quickly finding my way to her side. “And even if I didn’t love slavery… I **do** love you…”

Candace smiled, nodding her head before she led Liz and I back out to the parlor, where Cyrus was waiting patiently, his loyal slave making her way into his lap as soon as she saw him. “Cyrus and _Onesie_ are here to help us have a little rehearsal before tomorrow, I want everything to go perfectly when my father gets here.”

“Makes sense to me, Ma’am.” I nodded, my eyes still pointing down at those feet of hers I loved to kiss so badly. “You should have told me to expect visitors.”

“Oh, should I have?” I watched Candace tap her foot impatiently. “Are you trying to tell me what to do, slave?”

“N-no Ma’am, I would never dream of it…” I swallowed nervously, kicking myself for continuing to fail. _I’m really not ready for tomorrow, am I…_

“Aria is here too, she’s just in playing with Thea and Sophia. She _really_ loves Sophia, which doesn’t surprise me, she’s adorable~” Candace looked me straight in the eye, catching my upwards drifting gaze as she winked at me. 

I blushed, biting my lip in frustration as I nodded. “So it’s going to be like your afterparty, Ma’am?”

“Not tonight, no, but tomorrow maybe. Granted, Lilith won’t be here tomorrow, my father and his ex-wife are mutually exclusive when it comes to parties.” Candace sighed, sitting down in her seat and gesturing for me to kneel next to her. “Surprisingly, tonight’s rehearsal is one of those rare occasions where Malcolm and Leah have chosen not to attend, he only has so much social energy after all, and she, well… let’s just say Leah is having a rough time with her husband right now.” 

“Rough is an understatement, Candy… Didn’t you hear?” Aria exited from the cat’s bedroom and made her way to the parlor, little Sophia in hand. “They’re getting a divorce~”

“And where did you hear that?” Candace was almost annoyed that she was only just hearing this from one of her houseguests and not from her chauffeur directly. “Since when do you and Leah talk?”

“Ever since yours truly convinced her to dump his neglectful ass is when~” Aria grinned smugly, sitting down on one of the round sofas with the kitten. “I’m a relationship solver after all, didn’t you know?”

“Sure you are~” Candace sneered sarcastically. “So what, you’ve replaced me as your best friend then?”

“I would never even dream of it, Clairbear~” Aria taunted her, purring under her breath like a cat would. “She’s great, but she’s no you~”

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in Malcolm’s room, Aria?”

“Nah, the kitten’s room is just fine, I can sleep on the floor no problem~”

“You’re not Chloe, I’m not going to force you to sleep on the floor.”

“You don’t need to **force** me to do anything, _mama cat_ ~” Aria smirked, winking at Candace as she purred, almost swooning over my Mistress. “Unless you want me to sleep in **your** room~”

“Not this time, Fairmont. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the last time I let you sleep in my bed with me.”

 _Last time?_ I was never really sure how I felt about Aria, but I did not at all like the way that Aria and Candace talked to each other. It was almost like flirting, and I did not at all like getting jealous over watching someone flirt with Candace, my Mistress, **my** Candace.

“Is something wrong, Chloe?” Candace reached down, gently pinching my left ear between her fingers. “You look tense.”

“I-it’s nothing at all Master-” I smiled up at her, leaning into her hand eagerly, watching the smug grin on Aria’s face fade as she instantly looked away from me, and more importantly, stopped gawking at my Candace. “My apologies… I’m dreadfully sorry for making you worry, Ma’am, may I please make it up to you?”

 _Nailed it._ Candace grinned happily, continuing to rub my ear between her fingers as she proudly cooed at me. “Loosen up and continue to look pretty for me, doll.”

“Yes, Master.” I smiled, watching Candace turn her attention back to Aria, still fiddling with my ear and my hair idly. 

“If she’s not with her husband then she’s probably with my father.” Candace shook her head and sighed under her breath. “You’re a bad influence, Aria. Let me guess, you had sex with her?”

“Just the once, she was having a bad night and needed a fling~” Aria smirked, unashamed of herself. “She **asked** me for it, she’s never been with another woman after all… so who better than me?”

“Can you not keep it in your panties, Aria?” Candace scoffed, slowly pulling her hand from my ear. 

“Never ever ever~!!” Aria once again mewled under her breath at Candace. “Why should I ever do that?”

“Are all of your friends gay, sis?” Cyrus chuckled at Candace, his hand up Liz’s skirt as he watched her squirm. 

“Pretty much~” Candace shrugged. “Just another lesbian for the lesbian pile, I guess?”

“Sooooo, Candace~” Aria piped back up. “When do we get to see you play?”

“Play?” Candace paused, looking back over at her. “Play what, exactly?”

“Well I don’t want to watch you two have sex. I may be a sex freak, but I’m not a voyeur.” Aria glared directly at me as she spoke, petting the kitten in her lap. “I meant the game.”

“What game, Aria?” Candace also turned down to look at me, a concerned look in her eyes.

“This is supposed to be a rehearsal isn’t it?” Aria continued to watch my reactions as she spoke. “Leah told me that your father is expecting to see you two play each other again, did she not tell you?”

“You mean my father is expecting me to play-” Candace growled under her breath, the words getting caught in her throat. 

“Starcraft.” Aria smiled, glaring directly at me as she giggled. “Yeah~”

↞✶↠

Candace pulled me aside, into the gaming room, needing to speak with me in private.

“We have to get this right tonight, right now.” Candace closed the door behind us, turning on her machines. “I’m not having you fall apart like last time.”

“Fall apart, Ma’am?” I nervously followed her, placing myself on the floor by the sofa. 

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed it Chloe…” Candace sighed, sitting down on the sofa. “You’ve been doing pretty much perfectly for the last few weeks, but…”

“What is it, Miss?” I blushed, my eyes looking down at the floor. I **knew** exactly what she was about to say.

“It’s still a sore spot for you sweetie, I know it is.” Candace sighed, gently pinching my ear in her hand once again. “But you have trouble when it comes to the game…”

She was right, I did have trouble staying in line when it came to playing starcraft with her, as we had both clearly seen just a couple of weeks ago. But it wasn’t **just** the game that was the problem, it was everything that had to do with my past life. It was **Sophia Cavalier** that was the problem.

“Master… How can I make sure that **she** doesn’t come back and take control?”

“By **she** , do you mean Sophia?” Candace sighed, petting my hair, twisting her fingers into my peach locks.

“Yeah… Last time we played, it was really hard for me not to lose control and just… fall back into being **her** .” I nodded, closing my eyes and lowering my head in shame. “And in the end… **she** was who you wanted to play against anyways…”

“That may be true, but tonight, I want to play against **you** , Chloe.” Candace tugged on my hair, prompting me to look up at her, turning in place to face up at her. 

“What does that mean…” I swallowed nervously, glancing over at the screen. “You want me to lose this time?”

“I want you to make it look like you’re trying to win, but yes…” Candace smiled, grinning evilly at me. “I want you to lose to me.”

The unstoppable gears in my brain were moving once again, and I was helpless to stop them. Last time I lost on purpose she got upset at me, and that destroyed me inside. I knew that if that happened again I would absolutely lose control of myself, and if I lost control of myself, Sophia Cavalier was going to take over again. I can’t handle Candace being upset at me, I just can’t. If I fell apart now, I was never going to come back, I would lose control of myself forever. If Sophia Cavalier took control of me, I was going to lose her forever. 

I swallowed nervously, grumbling to myself. “But last time you wanted me to play honestly…”

“This is a special case, Chloe. Do as I say.” She put her hand to my cheek and held my head up to keep me from lowering my gaze. “You want to make me happy, don’t you?”

“I do, Ma’am!!” I almost shouted at her, my heart beat quickening. “I’m just scared…”

“Don’t be scared, Chloe.” Candace smiled, climbing down from the couch and getting on her knees on the floor next to me. “We’re in this together.”

I placed my hand over hers, frowning at her. “But what if I screw up again?”

“You aren’t going to screw up again.” Candace smiled, leaning in and pressing her lips to mine, sweeping me into a passionate embrace. “You’re going to do amazing.”

“But what if **she** comes back, Master?”

“That’s not going to happen, Chloe.”

“But how can I-”

“There’s no such thing Chloe, **she** doesn’t exist… Sophia Cavalier and Chloe are the same person, you do realize that, don’t you?” Candace put her other hand on my cheek. “Sophia Cavalier is the girl that I fell in love with… and she’s not gone, she’s sitting right here in front of me. You may have a shiny new coat of paint, but you’re still **you**.”

I bit my lip, feeling tears beginning to form in the corners of my eyes. Just hearing her voice made me so happy, and hearing her say that she loved me made it feel like all of this was really worth it. This was how it’s meant to be.

“I can’t let people know that she’s here with me, but don’t let some fictional other girl scare you, Sophia dear… It’s just a name, it’s just a design change. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t love you for who you were before you became mine.” Candace smiled, pulling her hands from my cheek and gently taking my hands into hers. “You’re still the same character, you’re just wearing a different skin… a very special edition skin, but a skin just the same.”

“I hate you…” I smiled, giggling under my breath as I shook my head sarcastically, trying to show her how much I loved and appreciated her. “I hate you so much…”

“I hate you too, Sophia~” Candace wiped the tears from my eyes with my own hands, before clearing out her throat and smiling at me. “Excuse me… I meant to say Chloe~”

“Does that mean I can play as SoCavalier?” I asked nervously. “...Master?”

“Yes.” Candace smiled and nodded in agreement. “Yes you may~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at this really pretty fanart i got ;//u//;  
> [ Full Link Here ](https://www.furaffinity.net/view/39213066/)
> 
> Also, do you like Liz? i like Liz!  
> if you like Liz, my friend is writing about her [right here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27537895/chapters/67347511)  
> go check it out if you'd like~!!


	15. Judgement Day

“Do you hate me?”

This was it, today was the day that would make or break my future with Candace. 

_Judgement day._

“Do I hate you?” I was alone here, in Candace’s pet room, with Aria Fairmont. Which even for me, was a weird way to start my day, I had to admit. “No, I don’t hate you, I just hate what you are.”

“What’s that, Ma’am?” I kept my head down, trying to remember what Candace taught me. “A slave?”

“I mostly meant a dog.” Aria was sitting on the sofa with her legs pulled up and criss crossed in front of her, with the kitten in her lap. “But that too, I guess.”

“You don’t like dogs, Miss?” I was seated on the floor nearest the pet hatch, trying to make sure that my Mistress’ pets didn’t wander off. 

“I’m allergic to dogs~” Aria smirked, continuing to pet little Sophia, who most certainly loved the human as much as the human loved her. “Just like you’re allergic to cats.”

“So you love cats instead.” It made sense of course, thanks to my allergy I positively despised cats, but I loved dogs to death. It made sense for Aria to be the other way around. “Is that why you didn’t leave for lunch with the rest of the superiors?”

“Not really, no.” I could see Aria grit her teeth, her eyes darting around the room as she examined every spot along the walls and ceiling, checking out every nook and cranny of the cat’s bedroom until she made eye contact with one of the cameras monitoring us. “I just wasn’t invited.”

“Is there a reason why, Miss?” I looked over at the camera and then at her, seeing her eyes quickly dart away from where she was looking. I knew she wasn’t here to babysit me, that was what Malcolm was doing in the basement right now, or else he would have left with Candace and them too. So why was Aria not invited? She didn’t exactly seem keen on keeping me company. 

“Let’s just say that you aren’t the only one here who Candace’s father isn’t exactly a fan of.”

“How come, Miss?”

“I would love to tell you why, but… the Family…’ Aria gestured back to the camera with her eyes alone. “Let’s just say there are eyes and ears everywhere.” 

As a world championship level starcraft player, I was really good at analyzing things, and I could analyze people just as well as I could the game. Yet I never really had been able to peg Aria Fairmont for what exactly her deal was, like I was never really able to figure out Candace herself, but I had figured out many of Candace’s other friends.

Malcolm Peterson was easy, especially now that I knew what his job was. He worked with Candace as a sort of personal assistant, and he lived downstairs. When he wasn’t out with his boyfriend, he watched the cameras to make sure nothing fishy was happening in Candace’s house, as he was doing now. Like Candace, he was also trans, though I had yet to tell either of them that I knew that, he was just a little more relaxed and flamboyant about it than his boss was, not very difficult to pin down. 

Despite also being in a similar position to Candace, Cyrus Griffin was not as difficult to figure out. I didn’t know a lot about him, sure, but I could tell what kind of person he was, an awful awful sadist. He had a large hand in how slaves were handled by the family, and I was not at all looking forward to ending up under his jurisdiction, like Liz was.

His wife, Elizabeth, was a bit more difficult to pin down, but after our run in when they’d arrived here, I realized she was one of the possible endings for this game I found myself playing. Depending on how everything went between Candace and I after tonight, I could very well become something like her. 

I really did know nothing at all about Candace and Cyrus’ eldest sister, I knew I had heard it once, but even her name escaped me at the moment. She and Cyrus were of course Candace’s half-siblings, and though I hadn’t met her, I had met her mother Lilith, who wouldn’t be in attendance tonight. She was a sweet woman, who honestly seemed to fully support Candace for who she was. 

Leah Watts was honestly kind of an asshole. She and her soon to be ex-husband, Ben, were now starting the process of going through a divorce, and it had apparently been a long time coming. Yet apparently despite her drinking problem and her general sort of cocky and aloof attitude, matched with her itchy trigger finger, the split wasn’t explicitly her fault. I didn’t like her very much at all, but I felt bad for anyone who ended up getting cheated on.

But then there was Aria, who for all of her time modeling in front of the world, alongside Candace, still confused me. Her actions were all over the place her thoughts raced, her eyes wandered, I could tell all of that about her, but I couldn’t tell why. There was definitely something suspicious about her. _She’s hiding something._

And now there was apparently this business about how Candace’s father didn’t exactly like her, which was really odd. If he doesn’t like her, then why is she here, his ex-wife isn’t here after all, but Aria was. She was tight-lipped, tense, and uneasy. She clearly had something she wanted to say, but couldn’t find herself in the position to say it. _She wants to tell me something, but she can’t… not while people are listening._

“Sophia is a pretty name, don’t you think?” Aria smiled, still looking down at the cat even as she addressed me. “Candace always comes up with just the cutest names~”

“She does, doesn’t she, Miss?” I swallowed nervously, going along with her. The fact that she stole my name and gave it to the cat didn’t bother me as much after last night. After all, I was Sophia Cavalier, and nothing was going to take that from me. “I am partial to the name she picked for me, I like Chloe a lot… I’m happy my Master gave it to me~”

 _I really wish Candace was hearing this._ Malcolm had better tell her about how well behaved I was being, especially the part about complimenting her. Flattery, maybe if I continued to compliment Candace, Aria would lighten up just a little bit, but instead she was just grinding her teeth more. “That… that’s great, I’m glad you’re okay with… _that_ … and all of this as well, I’m glad you’re… happy.”

“Is something the matter, Miss Fairmont?” I looked up at her, hearing her growl under her breath ever so slightly. “Can I do anything to help comfort you? ...Can I serve you in any way?”

“No. I’m fine…” She stopped petting the cat, letting Sophia climb out of her lap as the woman slowly began to sit up. “We should talk **_later_ **, but… I will say one thing right now… I was actually kind of happy when Cavalier beat Candy’s butt in the finals~”

“You were, Ma’am?” I smiled up at her proudly at the thought of it, quickly soaking it into my ego, letting little Sophia pad her way into my lap instead as Aria stood up from the couch, trying to make sure the kitten stayed on my skin and not ruining my outfit for the night, despite me being allergic to her. 

“Yeah… I was really upset when I found out that she _died_ … I just-” She frowned, taking a deep breath before sighing loudly. “I really **hate** what happened to her.”

↞✶↠

_What the fuck was_ **_that_ ** _supposed to mean??_

Either she had an incredible poker face… or she really meant what she said. One second Aria hated me and everything I was with a passion, and the next second she felt bad for me? What exactly was going on with her?

“Focus, **you** .” Malcolm snapped me back to attention. “Your Master is going to be home soon, and you need to be fully prepared when she gets here, we’re **all** rooting for you today~”

“Thank you, Sir.” I smiled back at him, letting him continue to do my hair and makeup for me from inside of the bathroom connected to Candace’s gaming room. “I’m sorry that this is the most appropriate place to help me with my wardrobe, I don’t want to use the Master's bathroom without her permission.” 

“Oh hush, it’s fine, you don’t see me complaining do you?”

“No, Sir.” I smiled, taking a deep breath as he put on the finishing touches to the look.

“How is it, Chloe?” He turned me around, letting me look at myself in the mirror.

I looked **gorgeous**. Malcolm was a fucking champion, and I adored him for it. My dress, though not as flashy and eye-catching as the red one from the previous night, fit perfectly. It was once again, a neatly fitting black dress, fit for Candace’s servant, though this one was quite a bit less revealing and quite a bit more appropriate than my original uniform, and it lacked the white apron sewn onto the front, this one was all black. 

My honestly quite short head of dyed hair was done up into the prettiest bun imaginable at the back of my head, keeping any unsightly strands of hair out of the way of my cute little face. I was honestly surprised to see myself looking like some sort of noble woman, knowing the humble punk rock lesbian beginnings I had come from. I was a changed person, and I was proud of myself for that. 

“How did you do all of this, Sir?” I smiled, admiring the makeup he had applied directly to my face. My skin was clean and smooth. My lips were perfectly shaped, perfectly painted, perfectly shaded even, he applied some sort of fancy queer magic to make my lips look like they had been made by a world renowned artist, which they had!! 

“Believe it or not, I started as Candace’s makeup artist when her father first hired me, and then I worked double time doing it both for her esports appearances, as well as for her photoshoots, and **then** I became her full time assistant. I take it the happy little slave likes it?” 

“She loves it, Sir. Thank you…” I smiled, as happy as I could be in the face of the terrible stress I was soon to be faced with. _The eyes, Malcolm, the eyes!! How did you do that??_

The eyeshadow, the eyeliner wings, the mascara, it was something the likes of which I’d only seen on Candace herself, and maybe Aria in some of her photoshoots.

“Did you ever do Aria’s makeup for her, Mister Peterson?” I looked up at him, pouting my lips to make myself look cute. 

“A pretty face like little Aria’s?” He grinned proudly, truly excited to be recognized for his work on a star like Aria Fairmont. “Why yes, I have~”

“I should have guessed~” I gave him a wide grin, turning back to the mirror and just fawning over my own reflection, now **that** was a girl I would swoon for. “Where’d that nickname come from, though? Little Aria?”

“Right, I forgot…” Malcolm sighed, slowly putting his makeup away into his makeup bag. “You don’t know.”

“I don’t know what, Sir?” I turned around, graciously holding his hand mirror out for him, like Candace had shown me to do. “My apologies for being uninformed.”

“The **situation**.”

“The situation, Sir?” I tiled my head, my delicate little expression just as cute as a button. “What kind of situation?”

“ **Aria’s** situation, I mean.” There it is, something about Aria early wasn’t exactly sitting right with me. There was more to her that I didn’t know about.

“She seemed off when I was talking to her earlier… what’s her deal?”

“I saw that, actually… from the sounds of it she probably wanted to tell you, but she’s scared of being overheard.” Malcolm took the mirror, putting it away into his bag. “But I’m not super worried about it, it’s not like it really affects you~”

“May I please hear the gossip, Sir?” I pouted my lips, smiling up at him with my pleading puppy dog eyes. 

“Alright, fine.” He smiled, shaking his head at me. “Let’s just say that she and Candace weren’t always very good friends.”

“They weren’t?”

“Not really, they were sweet to each other when they first met, and Candace grew to like the girl, but Aria’s early feelings towards Candace were… kind of like someone else I know.”

“Like who, Sir?”

“Like you~”

“Like me? Did something happen? Is that why Candace’s father doesn’t like her?”

“It’s not **really** my story to tell, but Aria kind of stepped into this web on accident.”

“On accident?”

“She got just a little bit too close to Miss St. Clair, and she found out something that she very much wasn’t supposed to.”

“And then what happened? What did she find out?”

“Slow down, hon… there’s no need to be so antsy, or so _loud_ … we don’t want anyone to hear, this is just gossip okay?”

“Yes, Sir… of course.”

“Candace was a sweetheart, really… she didn’t want anything bad to happen to Aria, so she convinced Mr. Russo, her father, not to do anything drastic to the girl, but…”

“But, what?”

“But that is most certainly not my story to tell anymore.” Malcolm smiled, winking at me as he finished packing his makeup bag. “Let’s just say that she has eyes and ears on her at all times, to make sure that family secrets don’t get out to the public.”

“I see…” That made sense to me, I hadn’t really considered how similar Aria and I might be. “Well thank you for doing my makeup, Sir, I’m very happy with it.”

“And I’m sure your Master is going to be very happy with it as well~” Malcolm grinned, sighing to himself. “I really am going to miss this.”

“Going to miss what, Sir?” 

“Gosh, you really are getting really good with the titles, but you can save ‘Sir’ for when Mr. Russo gets here.” Malcolm sighed, clearly quite exhausted. “I hope he’s happy with my work as well.”

“I’m sure he will be, Sir.” 

“I sure do hope so, I am going to miss you quite a lot if you get taken away… But I am going to miss you quite a lot either way.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, your future hangs in the balance tonight, but regardless of how it goes I’m not going to be here after tonight.”

My heart almost stopped hearing him say that. “You aren’t?”

“You may be frozen in time here just a bit kid, but the world is still moving around you… whatever happens tonight, I’m not going to be here for the aftermath either way.” Malcolm frowned, trying to look away from me as he spoke. “If you succeed, I won’t really need to be here to monitor you… and if you fail, well… you won’t **be here** to need monitored anymore, but either way… I’m moving out and getting married~”

My heart started to thump excitedly for him. “You mean Anthony?”

“Yeah, and it’s apparently been a long time coming.” He nodded, grinning proudly, almost embarrassed. “Look, I’m not even going to be here to watch what happens tonight… but I really am rooting for you, after all… I do hope to see you and your master walk down the aisle together one day~”

I blushed, smiling happily at him as he said that. “Thank you, Malcolm…”

“Don’t mention it, Chloe.” He pulled me in for a hug. “Be a good girl for Candace once she gets back, because once they get here, I’m leaving…”

“You’ve been moving out the whole week haven’t you?”

“What do you think I was up to last night?”

“I’m going to miss you, Malcolm.”

“I’ll miss you to, kiddo~”

↞✶↠

“Are you ready for this, Chloebelle?” Liz reached out, playing with the bell attached to the ring of my collar.

“As ready as I think I can be, Ma’am…” I sighed, taking a deep breath. 

“There’s the respect I was wanting last night~!!” She scoffed, taunting me for just a moment. “Candace sent us back ahead of them so that we could make sure you’re ready. She wanted to get Malcolm out of here before her father arrived.”

“Is she going to be arriving with her father then?” I blushed, my gorgeous face of makeup illuminating the embarrassment on my face. 

“And Leah, yes.” Liz was just as antsy as I was, presumably because she wanted me to succeed tonight as fiercely as I did. “God, you’re too cute for your own good, pup.”

“What can I expect from tonight, Miss?”

“Probably a lot of running around doing things that aren’t very fun.” Liz sighed, unable to stop fidgeting as she sat in the seat next to me at one of the small tables in the kitchen. “And probably not a lot of… loving.”

“Loving?” I swallowed nervously. “What do you mean, Mrs. Griffin?”

“Well, Pops still doesn’t like you very much, so-” Liz scoffed, pouting at me. “Your best chance is pretending like you’re **not** in love with his daughter.”

“I-” I stopped myself from snarling under my breath at the thought of it. “But why?”

“I don’t know… you’re fucking adorable.” Liz twirled her own hair in her fingers, unable to reach out and do the same to mine. “He just didn’t seem too keen on the idea at lunch earlier.”

“Then I’ll do my best as Candace’s servant then?” I smiled, not letting the idea of my future bride’s father disapproving of our marriage get me down. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit.” Liz smirked, grinning at me with anticipation. “Tonight is gonna suck for me too, I don’t get to be handsy with my Master in public, and I don’t even get to tease and play with you like last time!!”

I giggled, watching her pout at me with her whole _‘Oh, woe is me, I don’t get to torment poor stupid little fuckface all night, it’s not fair!’_ attitude.

“I have to act and talk all prim and proper or whatever around him, it’s not fair… I’m not even the one he’s here to evaluate, but what my husband says goes, I guess.” She groaned loudly, looking up at the time on the wall clock. “I’m so bored already, how does she expect to keep you waiting like this. How does **he** expect to keep me waiting like this…”

I nodded, waiting for a pause in what she was saying before nervously inquiring about what was on my mind. “Am I really going to have to play an exhibition match tonight?”

“Pfft, of course you are, who do you think let Candace become an esports player in the first place?” She leaned back in her chair, her large breasts weighing her down ever so slightly. “He loves watching her play… he was even **there** , at the world championship, to watch her.”

I swallowed nervously. “He was?”

“He was… and he wasn’t very happy about it. He was even going to have you killed~”

 _So the family really_ **_did_ ** _have it out for me…_

“Just don’t do **that** again, I can’t imagine what would happen if his precious little princess lost right in front of his eyes to the woman who soiled her career, again. He’s already seen that happen once, and believe me, he was **not** happy. Like Cyrus whenever he demolishes a table just for stubbing his fucking toe, I swear.”

I wasn’t sure why, but the image of Cyrus stubbing his toe made me smile, and Liz noticed. 

“It’s hilarious~” Liz smiled, a hungry expression on her face as she was about ready to gobble me up right then and there. “But don’t worry, you did well in your practice match with Candace last night… she kicked you ass pretty badly anyways, so it’s not like you can beat her, you’re too out of practice. 

_So she couldn’t tell after all…_ I sighed with relief. Happy to know that Liz was unable to realize that I had completely thrown the game to Candace, not willing to let my Master lose to me again. But if her father had been watching Candace for a while, I would have to make it look a lot more convincing than last night to make it look like I wasn’t just giving up on purpose. “He wants to see me **lose** , right?”

“He wants to see you get punished.” 

“Then he’s going to see me get punished.” I smiled at her, ready for tonight. “I’m gonna get my ass kicked tonight.”

“Yes you are~”

↞✶↠

“That’s all Liz, you can go~” Cyrus waved his wife off, dismissing her towards the guest bedroom. Sitting at the dining room table, wanting to have a word with me, alone.

“On your knees, slave.”

I did as I was told, getting down on my knees between him and the sliding glass door to the pool behind me, waiting for him to turn around and address me before I spoke to him.

_I’m the slave here, I need to remember my place._

“Listen up, because this is going to be important.” He was doing paperwork, working even while at his sister’s house, sitting at her dining table. “Acknowledge your superiors when they speak.”

“Yes, Sir.” The words jumped out of my mouth, eagerly and ready. “I’m listening, Mr. Griffin.”

“You’re in deep here, Chloe. This little gathering isn’t for fun, this is all business.” He very briefly glanced back at me to make sure I was paying attention.

“Yes, Sir. I understand.” My body was still, my posture was perfect, my voice was steady, and my eyes were pointed at the floor, not allowed to gaze upon one of my superiors. 

“My father is the opposite of happy with you, and to be honest, so am I.” He returned to his paperwork. “I’ve been against letting Candace keep you from day one.”

“Yes, Sir. That’s completely fair.” I kept myself composed. It wasn’t surprising, it made sense after all.

“I am more than willing to have you killed outright, but at my father and sister’s discretion, if you fail tonight I will be having you shipped directly to the facility instead.” He stood, turning his entire chair around to face me before sitting back down. “And don’t you think that I will have any of my people go easy on you just because you belonged to my sister at one point.”

“No, Sir… I wouldn’t expect that sort of treatment.” I kept my gaze pointed downwards, making sure not to speak out of place. “If I fail today, I wouldn’t deserve it, after all.”

“You’ve got that right.”

“Even if I succeed today, I wouldn’t deserve that sort of treatment, Sir.”

Cyrus smirked, I could just feel it without needing to look up and see it. “Sounds like my sister has taught you well enough to know that much.”

“Yes Sir, she has, I assure you.” I lowered my head slightly, keeping my palms flat on my thighs as I performed a small bow. “Any failure tonight is of my own fault, not hers.”

“I’m never going to touch you like my sister touches you.” I felt Cyrus sliding his hand under my chin, lifting my gaze up to meet his for the first time. “But if I have to, I will more than happily burn her name off of your body **myself**.”

“Yes, Sir.” I remained unphased. “I understand.”

“There’s a lot more at stake tonight than you know, not just for you, but for her as well.” He released control of my head back to me, watching me lower my gaze to the floor once again. “You’ve soiled her image, not just in the eyes of **this** family, but on the world stage, and that means you’ve soiled her image in the eyes of the other families as well.”

“Yes, Sir. I won’t be humiliating her like that again, I swear.” I nodded, acknowledging my mistake. The mistake of defeating Candace St. Clair at starcraft, even if I still strongly felt that it wasn’t my fault. But that didn’t matter, what I thought and felt didn’t matter, the only thing that mattered was her, and repairing her image as well as I can. “I’ll be the one being humiliated tonight.”

“Yes, you are.” He returned to his paperwork, growling under his breath at the stubborn chair as he picked it back up and turned it around. “And that’s why my father won’t be the only family monarch in attendance tonight.”

I could feel my heart being twisted inside of my chest at the thought of it. “Is that true, Sir?”

“Are you accusing me of lying, brat?”

“No, Sir. I am not.”

“Don’t question your betters, slave.” He began to wave me off. “Go attend to some chores, keep yourself sharp, make sure this place is ready to serve.”

“Yes, Sir.”

↞✶↠

_That can’t be right. Why can’t it just be him?_

I did as I was told, tending to whatever chores I could, readying the house to receive guests. It wasn’t fair, how was I expected to perform exceptionally well in the face of everything I was up against, especially knowing that I wouldn’t be meeting just one, but two different family heads tonight. How was that fair?

I hated Candace’s father just as fiercely as he hated me, in fact, I hated this whole entire family. I hated all five of the families. The only person who even remotely had a shred of good in them was Candace herself, and even then, she wasn’t perfect.

**She was far from perfect.**

Everything Cyrus had just said to me reminded me of how Candace treated me when I’d first gotten here, and it was only recently, after over two whole months of living as her housemaid, that she began to show me even a shred of respect. 

But even so, Candace loved me from the beginning, I was sure of it. Why else would she protect me from her own family. 

_And speaking of Candace~_

I heard static for a few moments, before hearing her voice being played through the speaker built into my collar. “We’re pulling up now, slave. Make sure to get the door.”

“Yes, Master!” I acknowledged her, quickly and eagerly, unsure if she was even listening to my voice being picked up by the microphone.

I turned the knob, opening up the door into the foyer and holding it as Candace walked in, accompanied by a very scary looking man, her father, Cardinal Russo. Curtsying slightly as she entered. “Welcome home, Master~”

She led the way inside, handing off her jacket to me to take care of it, her father following behind her and doing the same. Yet even after they were completely inside, neither of them said a thing to me, nor did they even look at me. They just continued their conversation between themselves, not bothering to acknowledge my existence.

“That’s not what I’m saying, father. What I’m saying is that you can’t have blue eyes unless both of your parents have blue eyes.” 

“You’re a spitting image of your mother, sweetheart. But she very much did not have blue eyes.”

“That’s because she had a medical condition, father. We both do.”

“And that’s why it’s like looking at her whenever I see you, Candace.”

“That’s all fine and good, father. But I’m just saying that she **must** have had the genes for blue eyes, the only reason they weren’t was because of her albinism.”

“And why **must** that be the case, hon?”

“Because how else would one of my eyes be blue, father?”

The two of them continued on their way, the conversation following them as they walked away and into the parlor as I remained next to the doorway, completely frozen in fear.

“Look alive, **Zeroes**.” I felt the door being pulled out of my grasp as someone else closed it, watching Leah tap on the door with her fist. “Do your job before I drag you to the facility.” 

“Yes, Ma’am!!” I snapped back to attention, nodding my head at her before quickly turning in place and making my way to the wardrobe room.

I delivered the coats to the wardrobe room for safe keeping, and Leah followed me inside, closing the door behind her. “Alright slut, listen up, because I am saying this once and only once.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I hung the jackets up and swiveled in place to face her, my eyes pointed down.

“I am about four weeks sober and I am not at all having a very good time right now, so you’d better be keeping the alcohol away from me.” Leah growled under her breath, the bags under her eyes indicating that she did not sleep very well last night. “More importantly, I guess, is that you understand just how tempted I am to preemptively shoot you in the head right here and now, just to blow off steam.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I swallowed nervously, trying not to show fear to the other woman. “I’m sorry about your husband.”

“Fucking can it, I don’t care about your condolences.” Leah made her way up to me, pulling out her handgun and putting the barrel up to my head. “I care about my orders, and I’m here as security, so don’t be making any wrong moves tonight.”

“N-no, Ma’am… I- I won’t, I promise.” I couldn’t help it, my voice cracked as she held the gun to my head, unable to keep myself from shaking and trembling in fear.

“Good girl, doesn’t even know how to tell whether or not a gun is loaded.” Leah licked her lips, flicking the safety to her gun off. “Make no mistake, this isn’t like last time, Chloe… This time, the gun is loaded.”

I nodded, still trembling in terror at the barrel of her mercy. “Yes, M-Ma’am…”

She flicked the safety back on, pulling the barrel from my forehead and holstering it back into her belt. “Scary, yeah?”

I bit my lip and nodded, managing to keep myself from crying only by keeping silent. 

“You’re going to do great, Chloe…” She sighed, trying to reassure me that everything was going to be fine. “It would hurt me to have to take you to the facility.”

“You won’t have to.” I snapped back to reality, remembering what was important. “I promise, Ma’am.”

“Atta girl.” Leah smiled, grinning eagerly. “Get out there and make Mama proud~”

“Yes, _Mama~_ ” I smiled, stepping past her and making my way back out into the rest of the mansion. 

↞✶↠

I made my way to Candace’s side, kneeling at her feet. My Mistress advised me to find myself at her feet when not faced with any immediate task.

The centerpiece of the entire parlor were those white rounded sofas, directly beneath the now immaculately polished chandelier. There was a circular table between the two sofas, and right there directly up at said table was Candace’s seat. Master’s spot was in that chair, and my spot was kneeling beside her, my head down, and my mouth shut. 

Cardinal sat at the sofa furthest from me, to his daughter’s left. Candace’s father didn’t look as scary now as he had when he first walked in. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but he honestly just looked like a normal person, not exactly what I expected from an all powerful crime lord. He wasn’t all that old either, he was in his late fifties at the very most, and I found myself on the other side of Candace from him not out of fear, but out of coincidence. Candace was right handed, so I was to find myself on her right, that way she could keep better control of me. 

“And here she is, father, just as I promised.” Candace acknowledged me as I knelt there, but she didn’t address me directly, nor did she look at me, and that meant it was not yet my place to speak. “Sophia Cavalier is dead, and in her place, I’ve turned what was left of her into my servant, Chloe.”

“I was expecting her to look different, princess.” He frowned, staring down at me with his cold and icy blue eyes. “She still looks the same…”

“Of course she does, father.” Candace reached over me, tapping two fingers onto the table in front of her. “I want everyone who does see her to know **who** she was before she got here.”

Candace and I had prepared for this, we had signals to help communicate to each other, and we both had them memorized. Tapping two of her fingernails to the table meant to go get her a drink, so I stood, making my way into the kitchen to retrieve her an iced tea. “And one for my father, he will have the same.” 

“Yes, Master.” I curtsied, my dress twirling as I swiveled around, my back to the both of them as I walked towards the kitchen. 

Just a few moments with them was terribly horribly stressful. I could tell that he was tough on his own daughter, which meant that his expectations for me were going to be literal hell. But still, I did as I was told, marching my way to the kitchen without hesitation.

“Not a fun guy, huh?” It was Aria again, standing in the doorway to the dining room. Right, she didn’t like the guy either. “Not really someone you want to associate with, is he?”

“He doesn’t seem too terribly bad, Miss.” I smiled at her, trying to stay respectful as I poured drinks for Candace and her father.

Aria frowned, shaking her head at me and biting her lip in frustration. “Recognize an out when you see one, Chloe.”

 _What the fuck does she mean this time??_ I turned to face her, but by the time I had done so, she was already gone. _Great, more riddles from little Miss Fairmont, exactly what I need right now._

I took a quick glance out of the kitchen window, it was getting to be evening already, and the sun was going to be setting soon. I returned to Candace and her father, delivering their drinks to them on a tray. By the time I’d gotten there, Cyrus was there too, on the couch opposite his father, his wife at his feet. No Leah, no Aria, just Cyrus and Liz. But more importantly, no new stranger to worry about.

“What even were you two doing, father, what took you so long to get here?” Cyrus inquired curiously.

“We had Leah take us by my mother’s grave.” Candace answered, sighing under her breath as I approached, taking her drink directly from my hand.

“Fair enough… Do you want anything Darling?” Seeing the drinks, Cyrus turned to Liz, watching her shake her head to let him know that she wasn’t thirsty. Either she wasn’t thirsty, or she didn’t want to make my job any harder, and I expected the latter. “Right, then I’m fine too… where is Leah anyways?”

“Probably consummating with Aria by the sounds of it?” Candace smiled, watching me kneel at her feet once again before turning back to her father. “Is something the matter, father?”

Cardinal wasn’t just staring down at me, he was glaring at me. “I would like to have a moment alone with the slave, before anyone else arrives.”

“Would you like to step outside with her, Sir?” It was weird hearing the word sir being said by anyone aside from myself, and it was even more shocking to hear it being said **by** Candace. “She’s allowed to be out on the porch, but no further.”

“I think I would like to stay seated, princess.” He spoke, and every heard him, that was enough of a clue for both Candace and her brother to stand up and begin making her way out of the room. 

“We’ll be waiting right outside if you need anything, father.” Candace smiled and her dad, snapping her fingers at me. “Let me know if she does anything.”

Snapping her fingers was another one of our signs, but it didn’t have any specific course of action associated with it. It just meant ‘Be careful’.

“Sophia Cavalier, right?” He waited until everyone was out of earshot before saying anything to me. 

“My name, Sir?” I moved myself towards him, kneeling in front of him as I spoke. “My name is Chloe. My Master has been very excited for me to meet you, Sir.”

“I suspect that that’s a lie.” He brought his drink to his lips, taking small sips out of it. “She’s been dreading this, hasn’t she?”

_What am I supposed to do? Lie to him? Or make Candace look good?_

“If she has been dreading this, she hasn’t shown as much to me, Sir.” I bowed my head. “She has been as eager to impress you as I am eager to impress her.”

“She knows very well how I feel about you being here with her, girl.”

“Yes she does, and she has been tremendously determined to change your mind about that, Sir. As am I~”

“Are you now?” 

“Of course~!!” I smiled up at him, lifting my gaze for the first time. 

**_Smack!!_ ** The instant I had looked up, I regretted doing so, as I felt him backhand me in the face at record speed, enough to knock me off balance in just a single moment. “Don’t you dare look at me, slave.”

“Yes, Sir. Sorry Sir.” I dropped my gaze back down. _So this is where she gets it from…_

“If my own wife did so much as even give a passing glance to another man, I wouldn’t hesitate to put her back in her place.”

“As you should, Sir.” _Of course, of course she was. Candace’s mother was just as bought and sold as Liz or I was._ “It’s important for slaves to remember their place.”

“Now you’re catching on.” He finished his drink before harshly slamming the bottom of his glass back down onto the table. “Now, why in the world should I let my daughter **keep** you?”

“I can’t answer that, Sir…” I swallowed nervously, taking deep breaths. “Only she can answer that for you, Sir. What she says goes. She leads, I only follow.”

“That’s a little bit better.” He shook his head. “I’ve spoiled her too much for her own good…”

“How is that, Sir?”

“I never should have let her keep you in the first place.” 

“That’s not my place to say either, Sir…” I nodded, my heart aching and pounding in my chest. “All that matters to me is her, Sir… I just want her to be happy.”

“Is that so?” He tapped his fingernail against the empty glass impatiently as he picked it back up, beginning to chew on the ice cubes. “Because that certainly wasn’t the case when you humiliated her like you did.”

“No, it wasn’t Sir, not at all. But it is now.” I lowered my head to the floor, breathing heavily, trying to make sure that I didn't screw this up. “She has trained me well, Sir. I’ve learned what it means to belong to her… she taught me how to make her happy. It’s all I want… It’s all I need.”

“And if you had to give her up to make her happy?”

“Then I would do so in an instant, Sir.” I spoke without hesitation, and without any doubt in my mind. “Whatever it takes to make her happy, I would do so in an instant.”

There was a pause, the tension in the air hot on the both of our skin.

“A refill, slave. Go.”

“Yes, Sir. Right away.” I stood, picking up both of the glasses and taking them with me to the kitchen. 

“She would be happier without you here to remind her of her own failure. I have no doubt in my mind about that.” He sighed, shaking his head at me. “And you’d be happier with someone else, as well…”

↞✶↠

I couldn’t breathe after that. As soon as I got to the kitchen sink I was practically heaving, feeling like I was going to vomit right then and there, struggling to hold onto my composure.

“Hey, hey, slow down.” I felt a gentle hand on my back, as Aria took the glasses from me and refilled them, setting them down next to the sink.

“I can’t… breathe.” I gritted my teeth, struggling to keep myself from crying.

“I know, I know, but can you hear that?” Ariat tilted her head back towards the parlor. It sounded like Cardinal’s children had once again joined him in the parlor. “We only have a moment, we need to make this quick.” 

“Make what quick, Miss?” I stood back up, watching her open the door into Candace’s master bathroom. 

“I need to talk to you.” She quickly urged me to follow her inside. “Right now, while no one is listening.”

I followed her inside, closing the door behind her. If anyone asked, I was doing as I was told.

“He’s right, Sophia.” It was kind of heart wrenching to hear her call me that. “You’d be happier with someone else.”

I froze, unsure of how to respond before Aria stepped up to me, pulling me into a hug. 

“That man is the devil, and his family is just as bad.” She let go, stepping back away from me. “All of them… including Candace.”

“Don’t you dare talk about her like that.” I bit my lip, quickly growing enraged at the other girl. “I love her… and she loves me.”

“No she doesn’t, Chloe…” Aria paused, shaking her head and looking around for cameras, trying to make sure none of them were pointed at us. “That’s just what she wants you to think.”

“Don’t lie to me, Aria-”

“After all, who could love you?”

I froze, my heart aching at the thought of it, draining the life from my eyes and the air from my lungs.

“Anyone…” Aria’s voice quivered as she spoke, cutting straight through my mind and into my heart. “Anyone could love you like she does. Anyone could be better for you than she is...”

“I don’t deserve better-”

“This is what she does, Chloe.” Aria stared me straight in the eyes. “When she lays her eyes on a girl she wants, she pulls them into this web of hers, into her terrible family business.”

“That’s not who she is.”

“Yes, it is. You aren’t the first girl to fall for her like this, Chloe.” Aria spoke with no hint of hesitation in her voice. “I am.”

I paused, my heart aching as I listened to her. “What…”

“I might not have it as bad as you do, but I’m not here of my own free will.” Aria bit her lip, looking down at the floor at my feet. “No one that she’s associated with is even allowed to leave the island, ever… I can’t go anywhere or do anything on my own, the family eyes are always on me.”

“What are you trying to do…”

“I’m trying to open your eyes to the reality of this situation, Chloe… Whether you can see it or not, she had her eye on you from day one… and why shouldn’t she have?” Aria furled her eyebrows at me. “You’re popular… You have fans, and she was one of them.”

“Aria…” I shook my head, trying to push her away. “This is too much.”

“Please, just listen to me, Sophia… I was one of your fans too, I was so happy when you beat her.” She took me by the hands and squeezed them. “I know she’s probably told you that no one is looking for you, that no one cares about you. But you’re a smart girl…”

“Aria, I… I…” I bit my lip, swallowing the lump in my throat and nodding my head. “Continue…”

“I can’t keep you for much longer, Chloe… but I’m begging you, please…” She let go of my hands. “We’re not so different Chloe, we’ve both worked with her. She did this to me too, maybe not with slavery, but she tricked and lied just to get to me, just like she cheated to get to you…” 

I couldn’t respond, there were no words in my heart to respond with.

“I can’t get away from her, but you… you still have a way out.” She smiled at me, opening the door back out into the hallway. “There are people out there who love you, some of whom might very well buy you if you get away from her… and I’m not telling you what to do, I promise, I just need you to know… she doesn’t deserve you… and this is your chance to get out while you still can.”

↞✶↠

I stepped back into the parlor, refills in my hand, more unsure of myself than I ever had been before. Candace was standing up, waiting for me to return. 

“Hello, Master. I-”

 **_Smack!!_ **

Aria had twisted my heart, and I wasn’t sure what was really true anymore, but in my worried confusion, I had forgotten my place, and Candace swiftly punished me for it. 

“ **That** is for speaking out of place.” She took the glasses from my hands, and passed them off to Liz, who promptly delivered them to her father-in-law. “And **this** is for taking so long.”

She put her finger to her bracelet and promptly delivered a world shaking electric shock to my entire body, more agonizing and more painful than any had been before it.

Candace was not going easy on me tonight. This was not the soft and loving but stern Candace that I’d gotten used to having. This was the ice queen. This was Candace from those many months ago. This was Candace at her worst, and I hated it.

“Make another mistake and I very well might just let you be euthanized.” She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for me to rise to my feet. “Do you understand that?” 

“Yes, Master…” I grovelled for a few more moments, before getting up to my feet.

The two of us just stood there, neither of us sure what to do next, nothing to say to each other.

“Candace.” Leah popped in from the other end of the parlor. “She’s here.”

Candace took a deep breath, before nodding and addressing me. “Go answer the door, thrall.”

And so I did, I went to the door as I was told, and I answered it, holding it open for our newest guest. I couldn’t help but to get a good look at her, my eyes glancing up and instantly meeting hers.

_Wait a minute, I know her._

To my surprise, it was Candace’s manager, Tallulah. Stepping into the house and handing her umbrella off to me, despite the fact that it wasn’t raining outside. She clearly recognized me too, smiling at me as I locked my gaze onto her instead of downwards where it belonged. “Miss Tallulah~”

She grinned, lifting one hand to my cheek and somehow magically pulling my gaze back downwards to the ground. “Gaze where it belongs, little one.”

I swallowed nervously, staring down at her boots. This wasn’t right. She’s Candace’s manager, I’ve met her before. My manager has met her before, she doesn’t work for the mafia, she works for Candace, taking care of her esports career…

But she had a new aura about her. 

“I trust that you aren’t going to let me down again, slave.” She hummed under her breath, sighing at me. “I worked awfully hard to get your **Master** where she is today, and I do not very much appreciate watching you destroy all of my hard work… and I’m sure my **family** doesn’t much appreciate it either.”

“No, Ma’am… I’m sure they don’t~” I bowed, showing my respect to the other woman. “I’m sorry, Miss Tallulah.”

“Miss Tallulah is fine, Miss Paciente is better.”

“Yes, Miss Paciente.”

She nodded, stepping past me as she waved for me to follow her. We stepped into the parlor, and the moment she saw her manager, Candace had become a completely different person. 

“Hello, Miss Paciente~” Candace was blushing as she took the hispanic woman by the hand, planting a gentle kiss on the back of her hand and bowing. 

“Hello, Candy~” She smirked, taking Candace by the hand and spinning the mistress of the house in place. “I trust that I’m not going to have to be reminded of how she destroyed everything I spent my precious time helping you create~”

“Of course not, Ma’am.” Candace smiled proudly, stepping away from the other woman and towards me, gesturing for me to go put the umbrella away. “She’s much more well behaved than she once was, I promise you.”

“I hope she is, or I might just have to punish you as well~”

↞✶↠

It was once again a lot to take in, but I was going to take it in strides. I just needed a quick breather in the wardrobe room to catch my breath and readjust before making my way back out.

 _I can still do this, I can still impress them._

On the sofa to Candace’s left still sat her father, and next to him was Cyrus, his wife on the floor at his feet, having moved over to make room for everyone else. I knelt at Candace’s right, nearest her manager, Tallie Paciente, sitting on the couch to her right. Finally, to Tallulah’s right on the couch sat Leah, and to my surprise, Aria was with her. Not sitting on the couch next to her, but kneeling at her feet, as far from Candace’s father and Candace’s manager as she could manage, looking me directly in the eyes from on the floor across from me. 

“Congratulations on your promotion, Tallulah.” Candace’s father was having a conversation with the other family head.

“I know right, thank you so much.” She smiled, giggling to herself. “When I agreed to mentor your daughter, I never expected my father to step down so soon.”

“I guess your work with my daughter was enough to convince him you were ready~”

“Quite possibly, or maybe he just wanted me to **stop**.”

“I resent that, Ma’am.” Candace shook her head at the other woman, and it took everything I had not to flinch as she slowly reached down, gently running her fingers through my hair as she spoke. “I’m a wonderful apprentice to work with, and you’ve clearly taught me quite well~”

“Why thank you, Candy.” I could feel her glare on me as she looked down at me. “But clearly not quite as well as you’ve taught her.”

“You think so, Ma’am?”

“I do, I’m quite proud of you for your work here, Candace.” She smiled down at me, testing my gaze again. “Even if she did look up when she wasn’t supposed to~”

“Oh, did she?” I felt Candace tighten her grip on my hair, and I started to panic.

_I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. She can’t be mad at me right now. She can’t. I can’t handle that. I can’t._

And then I felt her fingers lightly pinching my earlobe, rubbing it just slightly. At first I thought she was going to hurt, and then I remembered what the signal meant. _‘It’s okay.’_

_Calm down, Chloe. She’s not upset at you, she’s just trying to save face._

_She needs this._ **_We_ ** _need this._

“Didn’t I warn you what would happen if you made one more mistake, Chloe?” She continued to rub my earlobe, trying to let me know what she really meant. _‘It’s okay. I have you.’_

“My apologies, Master.” I bit my lip, leaning into her hand. “What would you like me to do now?”

“Just stay right here.” She glared down at me, not giving me so much as a smile. “Sit still and look pretty.”

“Yes, Master.”

“My word, Candy Cane, just look at you!!” Tallie clapped her hand together. “Putting the little dream wrecker in her place, it’s almost poetic~!!”

“Thank you, Miss Paciente~” Candace smiled over at her, grinning proudly. “I’ve kept her the way she is so that people can recognize her, and **know** what she is being punished for.”

“I’m just so proud of you~” 

Hearing the positive reaction from the other family head seemed to make Candace’s father feel just a bit better, and I could feel the tension being released from her hands as she continued to play with me. 

“See father… everything is fine.” Candace smiled at her father, still unsure of what he thought about it all. “I’ve fixed her~”

“You’ve done a lot better than I had expected, that’s for sure.” He sighed, finishing his drink and setting it back down on the table. 

“A refill father?”

“No, that’s alright, we can give the slave a break.”

“She’s clearly not the only slave here it would seem.” Tallie piped back up, waving at Liz before turning her attention to Aria. “Who’s this little one?”

“I’m not a slave, if that’s what you’re implying.” Aria growled under her breath, snapping back at the other woman.

“If that’s the case, then why are you on the floor with the other slaves, kitten?” Tallie gently cooed at her.

“Because she’s not a free woman, either.” Leah’s leg twitched, kicking Aria in the side. 

“Well if she’s not a free woman and she’s not a slave, then what is she?” Tallie continued.

“Somewhere in between.” Aria sighed loudly, shaking her head. “A prisoner, a friend…” 

“She’s a friend of mine, Tallie.” Candace stepped back in, trying to defend her poor friend as she glared at her father. “She knows too much, so my father doesn’t trust her to roam free… so she’s set up here in town, somewhere to live and work out of…”

“At that rate why not just sell her off as a slave anyways?” Tallie mocked the other girl, smirking at the terrified expression on Aria’s face.

“Because she’s kind of already mine, Tallulah…” Candace gestured at Aria and then at me. “Look, she’s no slave, she’s my friend. If we sold her off I wouldn’t be able to do photoshoots with her anymore.” 

“At that rate, why not just keep her for yourself then?”

“I don’t need her, I already have a slave.”

“You can have more than one slave, Candy.”

They went on like this for a while longer, and I could see the enraged expression on Aria’s face just listening to the two of them talk about her like they were above her, whatever they were saying was really getting to her.

“I’m just here for moral support, but…” Aria stood, patting her own dress down. “I’m going to go see the cats, if that’s alright with you?”

“Go ahead.” Candace nodded at her before turning back to me, rubbing her fingers on my earlobe once again.

“In the meantime, Candy…” Tallie grinned at Candace. “Can I speak to you alone for a little bit~”

“Sure. We’ll step into my room.”

↞✶↠

Candace stepped out, taking Tallie with her, and leaving me with the remnants of her little group. Leaving me here with her father.

“I’m not going to **force** my daughter to give you up.” 

My ears perked up hearing him say that, and it took a lot of strength not to look up at him excitedly. 

“I think she **should** get rid of you…” He sighed under his breath, taking a glass of booze from Liz’s hand as she delivered it to him. “So long as Tallulah thinks that you’re fine to stay, then I will leave it up to my daughter whether or not she wants to get rid of you.”

“She won’t.” Liz sat back down, but in her husband's lap this time. “You gave Cyrus the same choice, and he kept me didn’t he?”

“You didn’t threaten to put an end to my son’s entire career.”

“Yeah, but I very well could have.”

“You spent months healing from broken legs, darling.” Cyrus pulled her hair, shaking his head at her. “Don’t make me hurt you here and now, in front of sweet little Chloe.”

“Chloe’s not sweet or cute, jerk.” Liz sighed, melting into her Master’s chest as he silenced her. 

“So, what’s your deal, Mrs. Watts?” Cardinal turned his attention onto Leah for the first time. 

“Now you want to know, Sir?” Leah scoffed, biting her own lip as she stared at her boss’ drink. “It’s really not all that important.”

“It was important enough for you to skip out on things this week.”

“I notified Candace as it was happening, Sir. What’s so important about it?”

“You’re my assistant, aren’t you?”

“I’m Candace’s assistant.”

“Not officially you’re not… You still work under me.”

“We all work under you, Sir.”

Cardinal smiled, the man had a little bit of charisma in him after all. “If tonight goes well, I’ll have a new job for you, Mrs. Watts.”

“Thank you, Sir. But I’m not going to be Mrs. Watts for much longer.” She nodded her head, standing up from her seat. “I need a drink…”

“Ummm…” I spoke up, quickly realizing that I very much wasn’t supposed to, but committing to it anyways. “You **ordered** me to keep the alcohol away from you, Miss.” 

“Right you are, _St. Clair..._ ” Leah rolled her eyes, shaking her head in exasperation. “Go get me a coffee instead.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I popped up to my feet, doing as I was told, heading to the- _Wait a minute what did she just call me?_

Everyone else was just as surprised as I was, and Liz was just giggling her ass off, much to the chagrin of her husband’s father.

_She just called me St. Clair…_

I definitely didn’t mishear her, she referred to me as a St. Clair, and it most certainly had a nice ring to it, sending me smiling all the way to the kitchen.

Part of me liked it, but part of me did not. I had an extremely important decision to make.

I had to decide right here and now what I was going to do. Because Aria was right, and I knew Aria was right. Candace was and always had been a liar, a manipulator, and a cheat. The last few weeks did nothing at all to change that. 

I wanted to discount what she was saying, I wanted to sweep it all aside and ignore it, but I couldn’t. Everything she was saying was turning out to be true, even Candace’s own words were confirming Aria’s heartbreaking little backstory to me, and if that was how Candace treated her friends… how was she going to treat her enemies? How was she going to treat me? 

_...Does she really love me?_

Maybe this really was all just a cruel game, a sick twisted fantasy of hers to drive me into the ground and destroy me. That was how all of this had started after all, what if she was still playing the same game? Was Candace lying to me?

I’ve seen glimpses of a better Candace, a loving Candace. But tonight she’s right back to where she started, an abuser. If this was how she was around her family, was this how I could expect her to be years down the line? Was she going to become like her father? Was she going to have me euthanized someday for disobeying her? 

That’s what her father did to his own wife. If she grew to be any more like him, was she going to end up doing that to me? I could see now that she could so easily replace me, it’s not even a hassle for her.

Besides, even if she didn’t turn out to be like her father… would she really be happier without me?

Even if she was good enough to deserve me, was **_I_ **good enough to deserve her?

Her father hated me, her mentor hated me, her brother hated me. Even if she loved me, was it enough… would it really be enough to make her happy? 

_Do I really deserve to be called a St. Clair?_

I turned around to head back into the parlor, coffee in hand, my head down, and my thoughts racing. Until suddenly I felt the mug of coffee being swiped from my hand before I could deliver it to its destination. Stopped in my tracks by the woman whose orders superceded all others. 

“You’re to join Miss Paciente in my bedroom where she is waiting for you, she wishes to speak to you alone, slave.” She blocked access to the parlor, pointing me towards the door to her room. “Do not keep her waiting, and do not let me down, Chloe.”

“Yes, Master.” She snapped her fingers, and I was gone, stepping into the master bedroom, alone with one of the most dangerous people in the world. 

“Don’t be shy, Cavalier, it’s quite alright.” She gently beckoned for me to join her, much in the same way that Candace had the previous night before spanking me. “I’m not going to hurt you or anything, I would just like to have a word with you in private, close the door behind you.” 

“Yes, Ma’am…” I stepped again, once again doing as I was told, stopping just short of sitting down next to her on the bed.

“Kneel.” 

I took a deep breath, keeping my gaze locked at her feet as I lowered myself to the floor beneath her. 

“ **_I hope you now understand just how fucking deep this rabbit hole goes_ **.”

I swallowed nervously, nodding my head at her. “I do, Ma’am.”

“You’re lucky that Miss St. Clair actually means quite a lot to me…” She stood over me, walking in circles around me. “Because I do not like you even a little bit Sophia Cavalier, not for one fucking second have I thought that she should be allowed to keep you here, you should be taken away to one of our facilities and you should be put down, like a **_dog_ **.”

She didn’t even give me a chance to respond, she didn’t care what I had to say, she wanted me in here to scold and berate me, and I was going to take it.

“If I was in charge of her, I wouldn’t let her keep you… I put in a lot of work to get her to the top of the world, I did a lot to get her to the world championship, and then you **ruined it** . Everything that she and I worked towards, you ruined it, you ruined **her**.” She snarled at me. “The only reason that anyone is going along with this is because they love her.”

“And I love her too, Ma’am.” I shouldn’t be speaking. I shouldn’t be saying anything at all. But at this point I couldn’t stop myself. “I love her more than I love myself.”

Tallie sighed, kneeling in front of me. “This is your pre-game pep talk, child… she’s waiting in the gaming room for you… alone.”

“Yes, Ma’am…”

“Candace is something like a daughter to me, Chloe.” She helped me up as she stood, leading me to the door. “Break my little panda’s heart again and I will make sure you suffer for the rest of your life.”

↞✶↠

“Is she in there?”

“By herself, yeah.” Aria stopped me in the lounge, on my way to the gaming room. “So you’re just going to keep playing her game then?”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do for me, really…” I sighed, trying not to make eye contact with the other girl. “But I love her.”

She nodded. “I don’t blame you for that at all, I made the same mistake.”

“Aria, I-”

“But just looking at you disgusts me, Chloe.” She scoffed. “Because I hate seeing what she’s doing to you…”

She continued. “I just don’t see how **any** of this is your fault. It’s not your fault that she lost.”

I paused, hearing anyone mention the world championship always made me freeze up with anger. “What do you mean…”

“Let’s just say, for instance, that beating her in a completely legitimate championship match was enough to punish you for, which let me remind you, it’s not.” She sighed, trying to make a point to me. “You don’t think that it’s suspicious at all that not just one, but two american women made it to the world championship finals at the same time? When does that ever happen? When has that ever happened?”

“Never…”

“She’s a liar and an abuser… do you think she’s really above cheating her way to the top, Chloe?”

“So what if she cheated, Aria?” I spat back. “What’s your point?”

“You’re a smart girl, you can put the pieces together, I’m sure.”

“What pieces-”

“Theoretically, if she really did cheat her way to the finals, which she did… she’s my best friend, she tells me everything.” Aria paused, trying to lay it all out for me, whispering to help prevent us from being overheard. “If she did cheat her way there then how did she ever expect to be able to beat you in the final match? Unless she was going to cheat…”

I paused, swallowing nervously. “I don’t like what you’re implying, Aria…”

“She knew that the only way she was going to win was if she cheated.” She glared me directly in the eyes, not for a second letting me look away. “So then why **didn’t** she?”

I choked on my anger, shaking my head at her. “I don’t believe you.”

“I’m not saying that it’s for certain, I’m saying that it’s what makes sense.” Aria put her hands on my shoulders, staring me in the eyes. “I’m not telling you what to do, I just want you to have all of the information.”

“I have to go, Aria.” I smiled at her, letting her pull me into a hug for a few moments before letting me go. 

“Good luck, Chloe.” She smirked. “I’m rooting for you.”

  
  


I stepped into the gaming room, finding Candace inside waiting for me, alone.

“There you are, slave.” She turned to me, shaking her head. “I have been waiting for you.”

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Master.” I frowned, staring straight down at the ground. “Please don’t hurt me, Ma’am. I’m sorry.”

“Christ alive, what’s the matter with you, Chloe?” She stepped up to me, putting one hand on my cheek and tilting my head up to look at her. “We’re in here alone, no one can hear you right now.”

“I- I know, Ma’am. I’m sorry.” I pulled away from her, stepping further into the room, my thoughts racing through my head. 

“It’s okay, Chloe. You’ve been doing great, I promise.” She grabbed me by the hand, holding onto me and refusing to let me walk away from her. “It’s just you and me right now, if there’s something on your mind, you can say it.”

“Did you cheat?” I blurted it out without thinking about it. Having seen her manager’s true intent it really did make sense for her to do something like that.

“Did I cheat?” She stared at me blankly, completely shocked to be hearing something like that at a time like this. “...did I cheat on you, you mean?”

“No, I mean-” I paused, thinking it over for a few moments. “Wait, did you?”

“We aren’t really an official relationship, Chloe.” She blushed, shaking her head and squeezing onto my hand. “I would hardly call it cheating… why, what did Tallie tell you about us?”

“I meant the game, Ma’am.” I squeezed back. “Did you cheat your way to the finals?”

“Chloe…”

“Candace!!” I begged her. “Please…”

“I would be lying if I said it was fully legitimate… but this is not a conversation for right now.”

“Then when is it a conversation for, Miss?”

“This can be a conversation for tomorrow, or literally any other day, but not right now.”

“But it’s important right now...”

“Why is this important right now, Chloe?”

“Because I need to know if this is really all my fault or not!”

**_Smack._ **I watched her eyes go wide, and then a moment later I felt her release her grasp on my hand, only to bring it across my face. Sending me tumbling backwards a few steps.

“That’s quite enough of that, slave.” She scolded me harshly. “My guests are waiting to watch me get my revenge on you, and that’s what’s going to fucking happen. Whether you like it or not.”

“I…” I bit my lip, struggling to hold back angry tears. “Yes, Ma’am…”

“Take a breather, Chloe.” She frowned angrily at me, holding me at arms length. “Go to the bathroom for a second, and then come back when you’re ready to be submissive. I am not dealing with an insolent slave, I deserve better than that, and you know it.”

I grunted under my breath, glaring downwards, not wanting to look up at her. “Alright…”

  
  


_Fuck me. Fuck me._ I locked myself in the bathroom adjacent to the gaming room, glad that there was no door connecting the two rooms from the inside like the master bedroom had. 

_Of course it’s not my fault. It was never really my fault, she just wants me to feel like it’s my fault._

“Calm down Chloe, it’s fine. This is fine.” There was a solution to this, I was just too terrified to go through with it. “You just have to play this match, and then it’s all over.” 

I stepped up to the mirror, taking a good look at the woman inside of it. My reflection stared back at me through the pristine glass, helpless and utterly defeated. I never expected to see myself looking like this, Candace’s proper little thing, her maid, her slave. But there I was, clear as day, and the menacingly white light of my collar, blinking every few moments, made it that much clearer the situation I found myself in. Tricked, manipulated, gaslit. 

She wanted me, and at least on the surface, I wanted her. But I couldn’t know whether the thing I was feeling was really coming from somewhere deep inside of me, or if it was just an earworm planted inside of me by someone completely and truly despicable. 

It didn’t really matter how Candace felt about me, did it? Even if we ended up together at the end of it all, did the ends really justify the means?

I wanted to believe that she was doing the right thing, that **we** were doing the right thing. But deep down I knew that what she was doing to me was wrong. Even if her reasons for doing all of this to me were for the right reasons, the things she was doing were still wrong.

It didn’t matter whether she was doing this for the right reasons or the wrong reasons, because I knew deep down that those ends didn’t justify all of **this**. All of the torment, lies, manipulation, humiliation, and abuse that I had been suffering at her hands.

The good things that had come from this weren’t just some break in the clouds, there wasn’t really a silver lining to all of this. She put me into this hole, and only her words were able to dig me back out of this. But she said it herself, I’m not just some slave, **I’m** **Sophia Cavalier**.

 _‘I’d be lying if I said it was fully legitimate’_ She said that herself, she admitted that she had been lying about that, and she had been lying to me about so much more. 

I picked up a makeup sponge, one that was sitting there beside the sink, knowing that it belonged to Candace and not to Malcolm now that he was gone, squeezing it in my hand. _Even Malcolm is jumping ship while he still can…_

She had been preparing me for this. Not because it was really so important for **me** that I be allowed to stay here with her, but because she didn’t want me to realize what this really was for me. 

_My way out…_

No. I didn’t know where I would end up. I couldn’t be sure that I would survive a stay at the facility, but I knew that she wouldn’t let me be euthanized, that was something I could be sure of. She was obsessed with **me** , she was a stalker and an abductor. If she was going to allow me to die, she would have done it already. 

No. I couldn’t possibly know whose hands I might fall into, but if I didn’t go now, I might never find out. There really could be someone out there who would treat me right, or at the very least treat me better than she did. _Could I really take that chance? Would it be worth it?_

I bit my lip, staring at myself in the mirror, taking in the image of just how far I really had fallen. _She did this to me…_

Yet despite seeing clearer than day the intensity of just what she had put me through, there was still one thing on my mind that I couldn’t shake.

_  
  
_

_I love you so much, Candace St. Clair…_

I did. I really did. I loved her.

_If I get taken away from you, would you come find me?_

_If you really love me like you say you do, would you somehow find a way to wrap your iron grasp around me again?_

_With all of your money and all of your power, would you come find me?_

_Do you love me, Candace?_

“I’m sorry Candace… But Chloe doesn’t really want to play right now.”

Candace St. Clair wanted a rematch against Sophia Cavalier, so she was going to get a rematch, and if she lost again, it was all over for us. If I won this match, I was going to get taken away from her. But that wasn’t really my fault… It never really was.

“If you want me, you’ll have to fight for me.”

“Are you still just standing here following me around?” I stepped out of the bathroom, tucking the makeup sponge somewhere that I could hold onto it for safekeeping, glaring Aria in the eyes once again. 

“I just wanted to say good luck before the match.” She frowned. “Sounds like people are getting antsy.” 

“Thank you.” I swallowed nervously, my hand on the doorknob into the gaming room. 

“Just don’t throw the game like last night… I saw what you did.” She looked around, confident that no one was hearing our conversation, but wanting to make sure just in case, her eyes staring directly at my collar as she spoke. “Don’t lose this time~”

I took a deep breath, nodding my head at her. “I’ll do my best.”

  
  


↞✶↠

I stepped inside of the gaming room one last time, terrified of what was going to happen, closing the door behind me.

“I changed your account password to something I thought was more cute.” Candace was sitting on the couch, not bothering to look at me as she spoke, and not saying what it was she wanted to say.

“You’ve been listening.” I gripped the front of my collar with my fist, biting my lip.

“Just to make sure you were okay.” She continued to keep her gaze fixed up at the screen. “You weren’t really saying much.”

“How much did you hear, Ma’am?”

“Just since the bathroom…” She paused for a few moments, nervously thinking everything over before continuing. “What’s this about making me fight for you, Chloe?”

“Can we please play the game, Ma’am?” I stepped into the room, making my way over towards her. 

“Are you really going to do this to me right now?” She stood up, facing me directly. “You’ve done so well, we’ve done so well together…”

“Thank you, Ma’am…” I smiled up at her, my voice cracking nervously.

“Please, Chloe…” Her face was flushed with nervous rage. “Can we please arrive on the other side of this together?”

“I can’t-” I whimpered under my breath, stopping for several moments to keep myself from bursting into tears. “I can’t let you get away with everything you’ve done to me…”

“Chloe, please… I need you to submit to me, tonight is everything we’ve worked towards.” She took me by the hands, squeezing them in hers as she looked down at me with her deeply beautiful eyes. “Do not make me punish you for this.”

“I’m not the one who should be getting punished, Master.” I stared into the ocean that was her eyes, feeling my own eyes beginning to well up with tears. “This isn’t my fault…” 

I could tell that she was angry at me. She wanted to hit me, she wanted to hurt me. But she knew it would do nothing. She knew I was right, and she hated me for it. “You’re making the worst mistake of your life, Chloe.”

“This isn’t up to me anymore, Ma’am…” I swallowed nervously, squeezing her hands as hard as I possibly could. “Winner takes all…”

“A rematch?” She snarled angrily under her breath, wanting to squeeze my hands hard enough to break them, and I almost wished she would. If she shattered my fingers now, I wouldn’t be able to win the match. “Right here and now?”

“Yes, Ma’am…” I nodded, choking on my words as I said them, completely overtaken by emotion.

“So be it then…” Her face was red with anger, holding back her own enraged tears as she stopped herself from killing me herself. “I’ve always hated you, Cavalier.”

“I know you love me, Candace-” I smiled, taking a deep breath to keep myself from crying. “And I’m always going to love you.”

She let go of my hands, placing both hands on my waist. “Then give me a kiss for good luck.”

“Yes, Master~!!” I smiled, putting my hands on her shoulders as she pulled me towards her, carrying my heart and soul away into the most passionate and loving kiss we had ever shared. 

If there was one thing that perfectly encapsulated what the two of us were to each other, and everything that our relationship was and would ever be, it was that kiss. 

Holding each other as close as we possibly could, spiting each other in the face of everything we had been through. Striking at each other's hearts, trying to get at everything we hated about each other and about ourselves. We had changed so much, yet we hadn’t really changed at all. Here we were, right back where we started, as some little nobody stood up to an all powerful force of nature, bravely defiant as I challenged like I always did, knowing perfectly well that she was going to accept that challenge, even though she knew she shouldn’t. 

Our hearts were beating faster and harder than they had before, our minds were racing, and our faces were flushed with every emotion you could imagine. Passion, anger, sadness, fear, and joy… but more than anything else, love… 

“I love you, Candace.”

“And I love you, Chloe.”

“I hope you win this time, St. Clair.” I smiled at her, letting ourselves be pulled away from each other. “I’m rooting for you…”

And then we played the game.

↞✶↠

There it was. There’s the victory screen.

The screen had an eerie and ominous glow, illuminating little else but it’s evil purple light, the despicable Zerg spiral in the middle of the monitor being the centerpiece of the results screen. 

But the symbol wasn’t what mattered, after all… we both played Zerg.

What mattered was the name beneath it, the screen name of the winner. 

SoCavalier. 

I won.

Of course I won, I’m the world champion, it would take a lot to beat me, and though she had won games against me before, tonight wasn’t one of those games. 

What was I supposed to do now, what was going to happen. The answers to those weren’t really up to me, they were up to Candace and her family to decide what happens to me now.

Now that I had once again humiliated her in front of them.

I expected her to do something. I knew I wasn’t going to get a reward for winning this time. I expected the rage, I expected the anger, I expected the abuse. I expected her to punish me.

I wanted her to punish me.

And I suppose what I got was punishment enough.

“How could you…” 

When she got really focused on the game, she sat on the floor, trying to get closer to the screen. Trying to get closer to her opponent, sitting on the other side. But she didn’t stand up, she just sat there. I was just as frozen as she was, if not more so. I couldn’t find the words to say, I couldn’t be allowed to say anything. 

“…Why?” She didn’t leap to her feet to beat me, she just sat there. She didn’t glare angrily at me, she just looked at me. Candace didn’t rise to her feet and slam my head under her boot until I bent to her will. 

She cried.

She wasn’t just sniffling or whining like I had seen her do before. She was choking on her words as she spoke. She was hunched over the floor, her face buried in her hands as she wailed. She sobbed her eyes out.

I knew that this was all her fault, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t feel about it. I really did want her to win, but she just couldn’t. She couldn’t cheat her way into my heart like she had cheated her way to the finals. This was her punishment just as much as it was mine. 

“You…”

Her father was enraged. There was no doubt at all that he wanted to strangle me right then and there, for everything that I had done to him, for everything that I had done to his daughter. For making Candace cry. But what he wanted didn’t at all matter to me, what was done was done, and there was no turning back from here. “Do you have any idea what you have just done…”

“I won, Sir…” I swallowed nervously, my own tears beginning to stream from my eyes as I spoke. “Isn’t this what you wanted… to take me away from her...”

My voice shook as I spoke, glancing back over to Candace, who was now looking up at me even as she continued to sob. “Father…”

“Oh, dear…” Liz burst through the door, running past me and towards Candace, kneeling at her side, trying to comfort her. “It’s just a game, Candace… it’s fine… Right, Cyrus?”

Cyrus followed his wife, slowly and gently trying to pull Elizabeth away from his sister before she could wrap her arms around the crying woman. “No, Liz… Not the time…”

“Chloe doesn’t have to go…”

“Yes, she does, Liz…” Cyrus yanked Liz away from his sister, grabbing both of her wrists as he practically had to drag her out of the room. “And you.”

I looked up at him, glaring straight down at me furiously. “I hope you’re ready to get those brands burned away, because if you think for a moment that I’m going to let you keep my sister’s initials, you’re dead fucking wrong.”

“Cyrus, stop-”

“Shut up, Liz!!!” He snarled loudly, silencing his little rat as he pulled her away. “We’re leaving.”

“Are you for real, Chloe?” Leah had her hand on her gun, pulling it from its holster and pointing it towards me, clearly not wanting to do this. “Should I put her down, Sir?”

“N-NO!!!” Candace shouted through her sobs, pleading for her father to take mercy on me, even after what I had just done. “Father… you promised.”

“Candace-” 

“You swore… th-that… you wouldn’t h-have... her killed.” She glared at me for just a moment, finding it much too painful to look at me for too long, sobbing between her words.

Candace looked up, seeing Aria walk into the room.

Aria looked at me for a moment, trying to give me a reassuring smile and a nod, before finding herself at Candace’s side, trying to comfort her the same way that Liz hadn’t been allowed to, looking up at Candace’s father and trying to plead for my safety as well. “Please, Sir… don’t do this to her… it’s not either of their fault, really…”

“Then what exactly do you propose I have done to her?” He walked directly to me, staring down at me as he tried to decide how exactly he was going to destroy everything I was.

“Take her away…” Candace whimpered through her sobs, her voice squeaking past her lips as she tried and failed to wipe her tears away. “Take her away to the facility, father… where we’ll never have t-to see her again…” 

Cardinal nodded, turning to Leah and snarling. “You heard her… take this **thing** away from my daughter, I never want to lay my eyes on her again.”

Leah frowned… but she did as she was told, waiting for Candace to toss her keys over before crouching down beside me and forcefully yanking me to my feet. 

I stumbled nervously, finding it hard to follow her as she dragged me by the arm. “I- I’m coming Leah, please-” 

“Talk one more fucking time and I’ll blow your god damn brains out, Chloe.” She growled, shouting angrily at me. “The gun is very much still loaded.”

I stayed quiet, letting Leah temporarily hand me off to Candace’s manager, Tallie, while she left to go retrieve restraints. 

“I’m really not at all surprised…” Tallie shook her head at me in disappointment, bemoaning the destruction of all of her hard work once again. “But I suppose we should **all** thank you for making the right decision, after all… none of us will ever have to see you again~” 

She was a lot happier about it than I would have liked for her to be. But why shouldn’t she have been, after all she didn’t like me, and she was honestly just relieved that I would actually finally be gone forever. 

“I did warn you about breaking my friend’s heart, though…” She smirked evilly. “You’ll have one **hell** of a life ahead of you.”

“Let’s go, fuckface.” Leah returned, stripping me and securing my restraints, my hands clasped together in front of me, dragging me on a lead out of the front door of the house, the little bell around my neck jingling as she pulled on the leash, leading me towards the garage. “Time to get you to the facility, before I do something drastic.”

My collar, which I hadn’t even realized was still firmly clasped around my neck, was beeping and glowing red, getting ready to shock me. 

For just a moment, I was sure that this was the end of me, expecting this last shock to truly be the final blow. A surge strong enough to finally stop my aching heart.

And then it stopped beeping. The light turned blue, and it stopped blaring at me.

“I want everybody out of my house.” Candace snarled angrily, having recovered from the rematch and finally emerging from the gaming room, walking into the foyer. “ **NOW.** ”

“Especially you, father…” Nobody was going to argue with her about that, not even Cardinal Russo, and one by one, everyone in the house collected their things and stepped outside, leaving through the door of the foyer to return to wherever it was that they came from. “I need a second with her before you go, Leah.”

Once everyone was out of the house, Candace stepped outside, still struggling to wipe away her tears as she marched straight towards me, her bracelet still clasped to her wrist. 

“Good game, Sophia…” She wasn’t angry. She was devastated, and she was sad, but she wasn’t angry. “Chloe…”

“Thank you, Candace.” I bit my lip, staring down at her feet. “It was a good game, I had fun…”

“I did too…” She almost smiled at me, turning around and making sure everyone else was gone before she pulled out my single stuffed animal out from behind her back, pushing Poppy into my chest and wrapping my arms around the stuffed border collie. “Be a good girl, my little collie~”

Cyrus and Liz were nowhere in sight, and neither were either of the family heads. It was just Leah, Aria, her, and I.

“Thank you for everything, Ma’am…” I took a deep breath, slowly coming to terms with what had just happened. “I’m so sorry…”

“There’s nothing to apologize for anymore… I’ve forgiven you long ago.” She held her bracelet up, taking it off of her wrist and pressing her finger to it, deactivating my collar. The blue light turned orange for a few moments, and then turned off completely, before she handed the bracelet to Leah. “This controls her collar, and these are the keys to all of her restraints.”

“Candace.” I interrupted her as she spoke, one last act of defiance in the face of everything that was about to happen. “I love you…”

“I love you too, Chloe…” She sighed for a few moments, before reaching out and grabbing me by the ear, and removing the cattle tag that marked me as hers. “You might not be mine anymore, but remember everything that I taught you, and make your next owner proud okay… can you do that for me?”

“Yes, Master…” I couldn’t hold it back anymore, as I felt tears beginning to roll down my cheeks. “I’ll do my best.”

“It’s okay, Chloe… I’m not your Master anymore…” She was crying too, putting one hand on my cheek and trying her best to smile at me. “I can’t give you a goodbye kiss.”

I whimpered under my breath, realizing how desperately I wanted to share just one last kiss with her. “Why not… Why not just one more, Ma’am?”

Candace choked, shaking her head as she wrapped one hand around the little gold bell, still dangling from my collar. “Because you don’t deserve one…”

She pulled and twisted, breaking the bell off of my collar. “...And I don’t deserve one either.”

We stood there, locking our gazes one last time, not sure whether we would ever lay eyes on each other again

“Goodbye, Candace…”

“Goodbye, Chloe…”

↞✶↠ _**END OF ACT 2**_ ↞✶↠


	16. The Lonely Handmaiden

↞✶↠ **_ACT 3_ ** ↞✶↠

_**Family Business** _

_**In a cruel twist of fate, Chloe ends up falling into the grasp of Candace’s family, torn away from the woman she once thought she loved. Now she’s on her own to navigate the twisted web of crime and danger in order to find her way out of the hell she’s ended up in. That is until she catches the eye of someone new, and together with her new master, she may just end up finding a new way forward, one without Candace’s hand to guide her. The slave’s former owner won’t go quietly into the night though, thanks to increasing pressure from those around her, Candace is left with no choice but to confront her past in the hopes of repairing a broken relationship with her sister, and hopefully become a better person along the way.** _

  
  


“Out of the car.”

I kept Poppy held to my chest, quietly sulking to myself the whole way there. We took one of Candace’s other cars, which were luckily a lot nicer than even my car, and a whole lot better than Leah’s car. 

_I’ve been here before._

It wasn’t until we were about halfway there that I realized where we were going, and soon enough we pulled in through the secured gates of the unlabelled white building where Candace had brought me for my surgery not even a month prior. It was like deja vu, Leah once again driving me to the facility and escorting me inside at gunpoint. It was the same as it was back then, and aside from the car we arrived in, there was only one big difference from the last time.

Candace wasn’t here with me this time. 

“Please put the gun away, Mrs. Watts.” The person who greeted us at the front this time was a woman, someone I hadn’t yet met. “I can’t allow loaded weapons inside past the lobby.”

“It’s not loaded.” Leah looked at me, giving me a gentle smile, she was quiet for a few moments before nervously pulling the gun from my back, having had it pointed between my shoulderblades. “It never was…”

“Leah…” I bit my lip, lowering my head in shame. Of course it was never loaded, she wasn’t expecting to bring me here… she didn’t want to be doing this any more than I did. 

“Hush, kiddo.” Leah sighed, shoving me forward up to the front desk. 

“What’s this about?” Whoever this woman was, she clearly wasn’t very happy about us being here, typical of an annoyed front desk worker during the night shift. “We aren’t expecting any late night appointments.”

“It’s an arrival.” Leah answered nervously, her hands on my shoulders as she stood behind me. 

“Just… one?” The other woman furled her eyebrows in confusion. “On whose authority?”

“Candace St. Clair sent her.” Leah rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Ask Cyrus.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Mr. Griffin isn’t in at the moment, unfortunately.”

“Yeah, I know. Just give him a call.” Leah sighed impatiently, and so did the other woman. She nodded, stepping away from the desk and going over to the phone “Thank you, Jane.”

To my dismay, we had a few minutes alone to ourselves. We took a few steps away from the desk, and as soon as the woman at the front realized that Leah wasn’t actually armed, she locked the doors back outside, preventing me from making a last minute attempt to run away. 

“So this is it, huh?” Leah scoffed, shaking her head at me in disbelief. “I really thought you were better than this, kid.”

“Better than what, Ma’am…” I squeezed Poppy, unable to bring myself to look up at the other woman.

“Whatever the fuck that was back there.” Leah wasn’t just disappointed, she was sad and angry. “Tsk, you’re not really my problem anymore.”

“Alright, bring her back up.” The woman up front, Jane, beckoned us back to the desk, having just finished hanging up the phone. “I can only assume that you didn’t bring her all the way up here for euthanization, which must mean she’s here to be sold, correct?”

“Yeah.” Leah answered nervously, gently pulling her hands from my shoulders. “Sorry for the sudden delivery.”

“They don’t usually come in groups of one.” Jane briefly looked up from her clipboard, her eyes almost completely dead inside. “What’s your name?”

“Chloe.” I didn’t even look up at her, glaring down at the floor in anger. Of course she wasn’t the one I was angry at, I was angry at myself. 

“…Is there a last name?” 

I blushed, not even realizing that I hadn’t actually said my legal name. Legally, I was Sophia Cavalier, but in the last few months, I had become Chloe. My time with Candace had made me into Chloe. 

“Sophia Cavalier… She’s a bit of a small celebrity.” Leah stepped to my side, no longer sandwiching me between her and the front desk. “She’s kind of a special case, she’s already used to the name her last owner gave her.” 

“So she’s pre-owned. Then she should already be in the system.” Jane rolled her eyes, pulling me up on the computer at the front desk, trying to find my profile. Her eyes seemed to be flickering between two separate windows as she looked me up. “She should be in here… but I’ll need her number.”

Leah paused, realizing that she didn’t actually know what my number was, not having been the one who gave it to me. Jane glanced at me and then back at the monitor, smiling to herself. “She’s definitely the real deal, though… looks just like her picture~”

I blushed, realizing that she was currently looking me up online to see who I was. Candace had made sure I was still recognizable as Sophia Cavalier. “It’s four zeroes, Miss…”

“Ah!! So that’s why I can’t find you… Class C is difficult, they’re all hidden.” She glanced back at my image results and then back at the window where she continued to search for my profile. Then suddenly she had a realization, her eyes going wide as she looked back at me. “Wait… If she’s a Class C, why is she here?”

“It’s complicated.” Leah spoke before I had the chance to, glaring at me to keep quiet and not say anything. “Why, is there a problem?”

“She’s a Class C, which means she has a predestined owner, but…” Jane bit her lip, finally succeeding in pulling up my profile, frantically looking it over for clues. “She’s pre-owned, which must mean that she’s been there and is now… being returned?”

There were a few moments of silence, the room filled with the sound of her clicking her mouse. It was unprecedented for someone like me to actually get sent back to the facility, I was supposed to be special, that was why I was given one of the special identification numbers after all. 

“There’s not really a problem persay, it’s just… that’s never happened before…” She frowned, writing a few things down on her clipboard as she clicked through a few things on my profile, occasionally glancing up to make sure that no one was at the doors to the facility. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to give her owner a call just to make sure that this is legitimate… by whose authority did you say you were here on?”

“Candace St. Clair, Ma’am… She’s my…” My heart twisted as I said her name, having had a hole punched in my heart that could no longer be filled. “She was my Master…”

“There’s a first time for everything I see… Well, in that case… I can take her from here, Leah.” She smiled, closing a couple of her windows as she turned once again to look at me. “Don’t worry, Sophia… whatever the reason may be, you’re here now, and we’re going to make sure that you find your way to a new owner.”

“You… you promise?” I barely managed to choke the words out of my mouth. That should have been good news, I was finally getting away from **her** , once and for all… but it wasn’t good news, was it? 

_I don’t_ **_want_ ** _a new owner._

“I promise…” She sighed, stepping out from behind the desk and opening up a door behind her, trying to do her best to reassure me. “Nobody else but me is here right now, but I’ll make sure that you’re taken care of… you’re in good hands.”

“Thank you, Ma’am…” I nodded, acting childishly shyly as I still refused to look up at her, and just like a child, I kept my stuffed dog squeezed to my chest.

“I will need to confiscate all personal belongings, I’m afraid.” She pulled a small tray out from under one of the desks, just noticing Poppy for the first time. “Don’t worry, they won’t be thrown away, we hold onto all of them and transfer ownership of them along with you.”

I should have been listening to her directions, but I couldn’t bring myself to hand the dog over to her, squeezing her to my chest instead. “Can I please keep her?”

“No.” She frowned, setting the tray down on the desk in front of Leah. “I don’t want to have to physically rip them away from her, if she’s not going to cooperate, I’ll have to sedate her.”

“Give me the dog, Chloe.” Leah scolded me, trying to be reasonable but stern as she held out her hands, waiting for me to hand Poppy over. “Candace ordered me to report back to her once I dropped you off…”

“Did she really, Ma’am?” I looked up at her, my face blushing every so slightly, not that she could see it from behind my stuffed puppy. 

“Look… she begged me not to hurt you, because **she** also can’t tell when a gun is loaded, but…” Leah smiled, very clearly trying to make this as easy for me as she possibly could. “She asked me to report back after this… and I would like to reassure her that you got here safely.” 

I smiled at Leah, sighing to myself as I relented. If anything happened to this stuffed animal, I was going to lose my mind. “Thank you, Leah…”

“You should be thanking Candace.” She took Poppy from me, delivering it to the tray before removing the purse she was wearing over her shoulder and beginning to empty it. “She sent some other things for her too.”

Jane was being patient, but god damn it did she want to get this over with. “Like what, Leah?”

“Nothing too impressive. Some clothes, keys to her harness, the controller to her shock collar, and some notes on taking care of her. Which includes…” Leah sighed, reading some of the things that Candace wanted to make sure that my new owner was aware of. “A set of instructions for her shock collar, a detailed list of her modifications, and her **medications**.”

 _Medications?_ My ears perked up. I took medications before I became Candace’s slave, but my master had never asked about or given me medications for my diagnoses. 

“Are said medications included?” Jane was beginning to grow impatient. “What does she take?”

“Candace says she gives her ADHD medications every morning, and antidepressants twice a day… says she just sneaks them into her food.” 

_She wasn’t… there’s no way…_

“This must have been hard for you both.” Jane took the tray of belongings and set them aside. “Sounds like Candace cared a lot about you…”

I swallowed nervously, choking on my anger as I struggled to keep myself composed. “She did…”

“This is it, kiddo. I have to go.” Leah smiled, pulling me in for a brief hug before leaving. “Sorry that you only ever got to know me as a liar… it’s kind of my job.”

“That’s okay…” I nodded, still not wanting to look up. “Thank you, Miss.”

“I’m probably never going to see you again, but it was nice knowing you… Be good for your new owner, okay?”

“Yes, Miss…” I watched Leah make her way back out, leaving me to my fate. 

“Alright, Sophia.” Jane sighed, eager to get on with things. “I’m going to take you downstairs now.”

“Yes, Miss… But, if it’s not too much to ask…” I turned to her, my face turning pink as I forced myself to obey. “Would you please call me Chloe?”

↞✶↠

We headed into the facility, and the first thing I noticed were the names on all of the offices immediately behind the lobby. 

The first room to my right belonged to someone named _‘P. Burke.’_ But immediately across from that was the office of _‘J. Colton,’_ who I could only assume was the woman escorting me through the facility, Jane.

The next set of offices had initials that I did recognize, however. _‘R. Larkin,’_ and _‘A. Schmitt,’_ the doctor and nurse who oversaw my surgery, respectively. Anthony Schmitt in particular I was aware of, he was Malcolm’s fiance now after all. 

At the end of the hallway was one final office, and it belonged to someone that I most certainly recognized, _‘C. Griffin.’_

We turned left down the hallway, and did so again at the next intersection, walking down a long hallway and arriving at an unmarked room, opening the door and stepping inside. It looked to just be a storage room, not for people, but for junk. 

It was no wonder that I didn’t realize that this was where they kept slaves. I hadn’t noticed it when I came here for my surgery, but that was only because it housed a hidden door leading into another room, a small narrow room with little more than an elevator, which I rode down with Miss Colton, finally arriving at the basement. 

_The slave facility._

There was only one way in and out of the lower facility, and it was through this elevator. It couldn’t be operated by anyone but the qualified staff, which meant none of the slaves could get on their own. The only way I was going to be getting out of here was in the hands of my new owner, whoever that turned out to be. 

I knew that there was no way out, but Jane was more than prepared to shut me down if I tried doing anything funny, she had a security baton on one hip and a taser on the other. “Does your collar come off, Chloe?”

“No, Ma’am.” I shook my head, respectfully answering her questions when asked. “Not as far as I am aware of at least, I was told that it was irremovable.”

“Then it’s a good thing that they sent the controller as well, huh?” Jane smirked, looking me up and down. “Are you doing alright?”

“I’m fine, Ma’am.” I continued to stare down at the floor of the elevator below. “But thank you for asking…”

There was an awkward silence, a pause in the conversation before Jane spoke again. “You’re… awfully well behaved, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to cause you any trouble, Ma’am.” Of course I was well behaved, I had already been trained. Unlike most girls who rode this elevator into the facility for the first time, I had accepted my fate. “I’m not going to fight… there’s no use anyways.”

Jane was almost stunned. She was obviously used to dragging captured women into the basement kicking and screaming, not peacefully escorting a readily submissive slave. “It’s good that you know that up front…”

  
We stepped out onto the landing, the elevator door closing shut behind us as we opened up a one way door, which looked to be a solid wall from the other side, just like my cell had been with Candace.

_Candace…_

My heart was torn in two, and it was all my fault. What was I thinking… of course she cared about me, of course she loved me. This really was the biggest mistake of my life…

But it was a mistake that I wasn’t ashamed of making. 

It was all my fault that my heart had been shattered in two, but it wasn’t my fault that I was here. It had never been my fault, really. Kidnapping a girl and forcing her into slavery just because you’re a sore loser wasn’t an appropriate thing to do at all, and it wasn’t something that I could condone, regardless of how it ended up.

This was Candace’s punishment just as much as it was mine, and that was **her** fault. 

“This one is your cell.” I looked back up to Jane, not even realizing that I had gotten sidetracked with my own thoughts. 

“I get my own cell, Ma’am?” I bit my lip, peering into it. It actually looked a fair bit bigger than the solid concrete bunker that my now former mistress had kept me in, fit with a bed and everything. “Isn’t this a little bit too nice for me?”

“Too **nice** for you?” Jane snorted, blinking at me in disbelief. “ **This**????”

“I’ve lived in smaller, Ma’am…” I blushed, hanging my head in shame. Maybe my life really was going to improve now that I was getting away from Candace. 

“Then it’s your lucky day, looks like you’re moving up in the world. Now get inside and shut up… I want to get back to **not** dealing with slaves.” I felt Jane place her hand on my back, forcefully shoving me forward into the rectangular holding cage. “Settle down and sleep or some shit, someone will be here in the morning to see you.”

“Yes, Ma’am…” I stepped inside, hearing the door slam shut behind me, but by the time I was on the bed, Ms. Colton was already long gone.

_So this is it, huh? This is where my life has taken me?_ I looked around the room, my heart aching in my chest as everything that I had been through began crashing in on me. I had never been this scared in my entire life. 

Finding myself inside of a small box and being delivered directly to Candace’s doorstep was terrifying, but it was mostly just confusing. Now I knew very well what was going to be happening here. 

I would be whipped, beaten, trained, and sold off to whoever my highest bidder ended up being, and then I would be a slave, not Candace’s slave, but **their** slave… whoever **they** ended up being. 

I was never going to see Candace St. Clair again, and that alone was bad enough to send me spiraling, quickly crying myself to sleep. 

↞✶↠

There was a knock on the door, but whoever was at the door of my new cell was only doing it out of courtesy, rather than asking for permission before entering. I shot up, trying to hide my still naked body out of sheer reflex, quickly having been jolted to sleep.

“Calm down, calm down, I’ve seen you naked and covered in blood once already… this really isn’t anything new.” He smiled at me, closing the door behind him as he entered. “Besides, I’m gay anyways.”

Anthony Schmitt, Malcolm’s boyfriend turned future husband. It took me a few moments of looking at him before I realized it was him, he had gotten a haircut. 

“That’s clearly my Malcolm’s handiwork, but your makeup has been running.” He, like Jane, was trying to be gentle and reassuring, who knew that being nice to the slaves helped make it easier to handle then. “You look like a fucking mess, sweetie.”

Of course my makeup had been running, I had been absolutely bawling my eyes out during and after Candace’s little party, it was no surprise that I looked awful at a time like this. “Good morning, Sir…”

“Good morning, Chloe.” He smiled, taking a seat in one of the two chairs that decorated my cell, sitting at a small table. “There’s security right outside the door… but it sounds like you’re probably not going to need it, are you?”

“No, Sir…” I shook my head, wiping the dried on tears from my eyes as I sat up to look at him from the bed. “I know better than to think that there’s any way out of this… knowing Candace’s family…” 

“Right… well, you can stay over there if you want, but-” He kicked out the chair opposite him on the other side of the table, opening the spot for me. “We need to have a talk.”

“What kind of talk, Sir…” I slowly rose to my feet, knowing that I would be sitting at the table with him regardless.

“A mental evaluation.” He pulled out a clipboard, waiting for me to sit down across from him. “How would you rate your level of anxiety, on a scale of seven?”

“Seven.” I frowned, answering without hesitation, it wasn’t a hard question in the slightest. 

“And your depression?”

“Eight.”

“You have no idea the number of times I get that answer.” He smiled, leaning back in his chair. “You go first, I figure you’ll have lots to say, even without me having to ask questions.”

“What, are you my therapist now?”

“Yes.” He stated, pretty matter of factly. “I’m more than just a simple nurse, sweetheart.”

“I don’t…” I grinded my teeth, staring down at my feet in shame. “I don’t want to be here…”

“Nobody ever does.” Anthony chuckled, scratching a couple things down on his clipboard. “But that doesn’t really explain anything to me, does it?”

“No, Sir.” I shook my head, sniffling back tears. “No it doesn’t.”

“Nobody is ever happy to be brought through those doors.” Anthony looked up at me, an unamused smile painted on his face. “But, usually when girls are brought to the facility for the first time, they’re not this agreeable.”

“What do you mean, Sir?”

“I mean **that** .” He pointed at my face with his pen. “I can count on zero fingers the number of women who came in here already saying things like _‘Yes, Ma’am’_ or _‘No, Sir’_.” 

“Candace trained me well, Sir…” I looked up at him, watching the expression on his face quickly turn into one of confusion. 

“It certainly seems like she did…” He looked through the papers on my clipboard one more time just to make sure he wasn’t missing something. “So why exactly are you here… you’re not here for a surgery…”

“I’m here to be sold, Sir.” I frowned, feeling a couple of tears streaming from my eyes, taking my mascara with me. “I know that much. I’m not here to put up a fight… I’m here to be sold.”

“Slaves usually have to get put through training before they can be sold, Chloe.”

“I have been trained, Sir.”

“Not formally, you haven’t.”

“Would you like to hear my guidelines, Sir?” I continued to protest, sitting up straight in my seat. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“By all means, go ahead, sweetie.”

“One. Know my place. I have a role to play. I have a purpose. As a slave, my purpose is whatever my master says it is. I am below my master, and I will remember my place and purpose.”

“Two. Know my master. I have a master, and I know who my master is. I belong to her, and that puts her above all others. She is the center of my world, and I will learn what she needs, learn what she wants, and learn how to serve her.”

“Three. Show respect. I am a slave, not a person. All others are above me and they deserve to be respected. I will put myself below all others, but I will respect my master first and foremost. As a slave, my master is above all others, and I am below all others.”

“Four. Do as I’m told. I will obey my master at all times. When my master tells me to do something, I am to do it. No matter what I’m told, I will always follow my master’s directions.”

“Five. Do not fight back. My master deserves my full respect and cooperation. I will not disobey orders. I will not talk back. I will not disagree with her. My master is the only thing that matters, and I am not to fight back.”

“Six. Act out of love, not out of fear. My master has the right to do whatever she wants to me. I will act out of love for my master, and not out of fear of what she will do to me. I will show her that I love her, and that her happiness is my priority.”

“Seven. Identify with my master. As a slave, I am not an individual, I am a possession. I will identify as my master’s slave, and not as my own person. I will let myself be viewed as my master’s slave, and nothing more. I will be an extension of her. I will let her make my decisions, I will let her fulfill my needs, and I will let her do my thinking for me.”

“Eight. Be vulnerable. I will make my master’s life as pleasant as possible. I will open myself up to her, and I will trust her. I will show my master that I am vulnerable to her. I will show her that I am powerless. I will let her touch me, I will let her hurt me, and I will let her humiliate me.”

“Nine. Be adaptable. I will learn from my mistakes. I will show my master that I will bend to her will. I will be open to anything and everything my master says, even if it goes against what I want. My master’s desires will change, and I must change to suit her needs.”

“Ten. Strive for perfection. I won’t just do as I’m told, I will make my master proud. I will do everything in my power to be more than what my master expects and demands me to be, even if she doesn’t notice. The little things will mean a lot to her, and I will strive to be the best slave my master could ever wish for.” 

I hadn’t forgotten them. not a single word.

“Chloe… why are you here?” Anthony was completely stunned, to put it mildly. “Clearly you’re not unfit to serve… so why aren’t you with Candace?”

“Because…” I choked, struggling to breathe at the thought of it. “Because we don’t deserve each other.”

“Chloe…” He stared at me with a nervous look on his face. “Please tell me you didn’t do this to yourself on purpose.”

I could tell him what he wants to hear, but it would be a lie, so I said nothing at all.

“I’ll be back in a minute…”

↞✶↠

It took him a lot more than a minute to get back to me, quickly getting up from his seat and rushing out of my little room, leaving me alone with security once again. But after what felt like an hour, he returned, and he didn’t return alone. 

“Hello, Sophia.” 

“Hello, Mr. Griffin…” My gaze fixed itself to the floor, unable to face him after what I did last night. “Please… Chloe is fine, Sir. Honest.”

“I’ll call you whatever the fuck I want, 0000.” He shook his head, sending Anthony out of the cell. I wasn’t his sister’s slave anymore, I was a serial number, and that was all I was to him now. “I am not sending you back to her.”

“I know you aren’t, Sir. I wouldn’t expect you too…” I bowed my head, trying to show him respect even despite my fear. “I told you already… I **know** I don’t deserve it.”

“You’ve got that right…” He kept the door open, despite being here alone with me, as if he didn’t at all expect me to try and run past him.

“Why are you here, Sir?” I bit my lip in anger, trying to keep myself from shouting at him. “I’m not trying to make any trouble, and I won’t be any trouble with you… I would just like to know if you’re here to torment me, or if it’s about something else, Sir?”

“I’m in charge of this facility, Chloe. That’s why I’m here.” He sighed, softening up slightly. “But I want to know why **you’re** here.”

I blushed, once again hanging my head in shame. “Like I said, I’m here to be sold…”

“Yes, and I am here to sell you.” He continued, still not happy with the answers he’s being given. “One of my employees came running to my office to let me know that you’re ready to be sold… so clearly you’re not unfit to serve, given that you’ve effectively already completed your training period.”

“Are those guidelines really all there is to the training period, Sir?” I kept my gaze fixed downwards, trying not to let him see the bright pink blush on my face knowing that I was essentially already a willing and eager slave.

“We only do preliminary training here, there’s only so much we can beat into a slave’s head, regardless of how thick or thin their skull is… at least not without getting into the specifics of each slave individually, we don’t have time for that.” Cyrus was clearly quite disappointed in me, now knowing how good of a job his sister had done in training me. “Naturally, I am quite surprised that you’re ready for sale on day one…”

I smiled, just a little bit proud to know that I wasn’t just the best starcraft player in the world, but I was also the best slave to ever make her way through this facility. “Your sister taught me well, Sir.”

“Yes, she did a great job…” He frowned, his face morphing into an angry scowl. “It’s too bad that you don’t deserve her.”

“Yes, Sir…” The happy feeling in my chest that flickered on for just a moment quickly extinguished itself. “We never deserved each other…”

There was a short pause, as the two of us stood there, not looking at each other. “Given that I’ve already told you that it’s not going to happen, I’m curious… If I **did** give you the opportunity to go back to her, would you take it?”

“Is that really an appropriate question to ask me, Sir?” The thought of going back to her side, it was all that I wanted, but we both knew it was never going to happen. “I should be devoting my life to whoever my next owner is, shouldn’t I?”

“That much is obvious.” He chuckled at me under his breath, clearly growing impatient. “But if you could choose said owner to be her once again, would you?”

“Of course I would, Cyrus!!!” I snapped at him, my face hot with rage and shame. “I still love her…”

I should have fully expected a swift kick to the head, yet still he managed to catch me off guard, slamming me into the ground with one solid blow, just like his sister could. But unlike Candace, Cyrus’ kicks were anything but poised and graceful, they were blunt and feral, leaving my ears ringing for several minutes afterward. 

“Speak out of line again, I dare you. Candace will be none the wiser… If you really loved her, you wouldn’t hurt her like you always do.” Cyrus scoffed angrily, turning his back to me and heading out the door. “It’s a damn good thing that she won’t have to put up with **you** ever again.”

I sat there in silence as I watched him slam the door shut as hard as he could. Cyrus clearly loved his little sister a lot, and it showed. He clearly didn’t want to keep me alive, but Candace’s wishes and feelings towards me were enough to keep him from doing anything that would kill me. 

“This is what Candace wants, so this is what’s going to happen. I’m doing this for her, not for you.” He spoke to me from the other side of the door, his breath heavy as he addressed me. “She cares about you a lot… so I’m going to make sure that I find you a new owner as soon as I can… so that we can send you to a good home.”

“Thank you, Sir.” I smiled, knowing fully well that he couldn’t see me, but I was happy thinking that just maybe whoever ended up picking me was going to be a good fit. 

The idea of it was almost exciting, I’d grown up in a foster home, but no one had ever wanted to take me in as their daughter. 

“It’s like I'm finally being adopted…”


	17. The Lonely Matron

“She made it to the facility in one piece.” Leah spoke nervously, her heart heavy in her chest. “I made sure she got there safe and sound, Ma’am.”

“Thank you, Leah…” I didn’t look up at her, I didn’t want to think about that right now. “Sorry that you had to do that.”

“I’m perfectly fine, hon… it’s  **you** that I’m worried about.” Leah hesitantly stepped inside, standing over me and looking down. “Are you okay?”

Of course I wasn’t okay, I almost scoffed at the idea of it, shaking my head at her, having already cried myself out of tears for the night. “No… not even slightly…”

“I can see that, but… are you  **going** to be okay?” Leah leaned down, trying to console me after everything that happened tonight. “She’s going to be safe…”

“I know that, but…” I choked on my words, squeezing the little gold bell in my hand as I held it to my chest. “She’s not going to be with  **me** …”

“You deserve better, Candace-”

“No, I don’t.” I interrupted her, not wanting to hear another word of that nonsense. “I never deserved her in the first place…”

“Don’t say that, hon…” Leah sat down on the couch next to me in my bedroom, putting her arm around my still lifeless husk of a body. “Think of it like a bad breakup… you still have us, after all.”

“I know, I know… Aria’s here too, taking care of the cat’s and stuff right now… doing all of the things that Chloe used to do before…” I paused, taking a sip of hot chocolate from the mug in front of me, doing my best not to spill it with my still shaking hands. “And Malcolm’s not  **gone gone** , he’s just not going to be working for me anymore… and neither are you, I guess…”

Leah sighed, shaking her head at me and smiling. “I’m still here for you, and I still work for the family… mama just got a promotion, that’s all.”

“Congrats…” I didn’t even look up at her, glancing down at my pitiful reflection in the surface of my drink. “I’m happy for you.”

“Maybe you could ask Malcolm about going back to being your assistant?”

“Aria said she’d agree to do that, sounds like she’s scared of my father…” I grinded my teeth, not wanting to think about my father right now. "But dad scares everyone.”

“He doesn’t scare me.” Leah scoffed, glancing back out into the hallway. “What’s pitter patter’s deal, she seems stiffer than usual?”

“I don’t fucking know.” Aria has always been impossible to read, even for me, and that was saying something. We had been best friends for a while now, we texted back and forth daily, we comforted each other, we talked about sex stuff, but I still couldn’t figure out what her fucking problem was. Ever since she’d first met Chloe, she absolutely refused to talk about her, or come over to my house anymore, it was the weirdest thing. “I never fucking know with her.”

“I resent that!!” Aria stormed into the bedroom, spouting a phrase that she had undoubtedly picked up from me. Aria scoffed at me, an unimpressed scowl painted on her face. “I’m literally just trying to help you feel better, and I get that you’re like… having a bad night and all, but can you please keep me out of your pissy ramblings?”

“I’m sorry, Aria…” I smiled at her, recoiling in on myself and pulling the blankets over my shoulders inward to help keep me warm. “Thank you for helping out, I appreciate it a lot…”

“It’s not  **my** fault your slave was a cunt…” Aria sighed, softening her expression and trying to better her attitude so as to not upset me any more than I already was. “Look, just… let me finish cleaning up for you, I’ll be right back.”

There it was again, that weirdness about her. She always flipped back and forth on a whim, acting in weird ways that seemed to contradict each other. I could analyze a person’s motives, but only if they acted logically… Aria let her emotions control her. 

She made her way out back into the rest of the house, continuing to clean in Chloe’s stead, leaving me alone in my bedroom with Leah. 

“…She’s cute, isn’t she?” Leah’s eyes followed the noise of Aria walking out into the rest of the mansion. 

“Didn’t you literally just get a divorce, like yesterday?” I giggled at her, taunting the other woman for paying just a little bit too much attention to the younger girl. 

“Not even!!” Leah puffed up her cheeks, growling playfully at me. “But I’m not about to let my soon to be ex-husband keep me from moving on.”

“Did you two  **really** have sex?” I grinned at her, piercing into her eyes with my cold glare. “…How did that happen?”

“Hell if I know… She’s just really good at consoling a grieving woman, I guess.” Leah sighed, hanging her head with a heavy heart. “I don’t understand it either…”

I paused, trying to read Leah’s expression, absorbing enough insight from her reaction to put together a piece of the puzzle. “She came to you, huh?”

“I’m a fraud and a liar, but I would never cheat on my husband.” Leah took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed with anger. “But that rat bastard deserved a piece of his own fucking medicine.”

“So you cheated on him with Aria, then?” 

“I mean, it’s not cheating if he did it first, right?” Leah scoffed, sighing as she got up from her seat on the sofa. “Besides, the girl’s too young for me. You and your gaggle of gays are just a bad influence, I want you to know that.”

“Of course we are… But maybe there’s a reason you’ve always fit in so well.” I rolled my eyes at her, trying to give her a reassuring smile to let her know I was going to be okay, if only to get her to leave. I liked Leah, she had become a close friend, but I needed to be free of the stress that accompanied her for the time being. “Say goodbye to Aria on the way out?”

“Sure thing, you just worry about yourself kid.” Leah stuffed her hands back into her coat pockets, trying not to stare at me for too long. “You want a hug before I go?”

I shook my head no, not really wanting to get up from this spot. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

“I’m not good with hugs anyways.” Yeah right, Leah was an almost  **pathological** liar, and I knew that much about her. If anyone in this room needed a hug after tonight, well… it would be me, but Leah would be kind of a close second, or a close third after… 

“You gave Chloe a hug before you left her didn’t you?” I looked away nervously, glancing over at the closet door. “She is actually safe isn’t she, you aren’t just lying to try and make me feel better?”

“Of course she is, I left her with Colton.” I was glad that I wasn’t taking a drink of my hot chocolate, because hearing that name probably would have made me spit it out all over the floor, and I no longer had someone to clean that up for me. 

“Colton? Jane Colton?” I swallowed nervously. “The euthanasiologist?”

“One, that’s not a real word. Two, she’s an anesthesiologist-”

“And three, she’s not even a real doctor.” I bit my lip angrily, my grip tightening around the little bell I still clutched in my hand. “The woman carries around lethal injections in her fucking pockets.”

“She also carries around sedatives and morphine, all of the doctors at that place are like that Candace, you know that. They wouldn’t exactly be there if they’d gotten their medical training legitimately. They aren’t going to put a real office worker up front to handle slave transports-” 

“She still shouldn’t be putting her hands on my Chloe!!” I spat angrily, my voice seething with rage. 

“Do you hear how ridiculous you sound right now? Chloe is fine, Candace, but that’s not really your fucking problem. News flash, she’s not  **your** Chloe anymore.” Leah didn’t even bother getting angry in return. “Why do you even care at this point, she’s somebody else’s problem now. She’s not even a real person anymore. She, along with her personal items, are the sole property of someone else now.”

“You know what I mean, Leah… I’m just worried about her safety is all.” I shrunk back into my seat, sulking quietly. Of course I knew that she wasn’t mine, the words just kind of slipped out. She wasn’t my Chloe anymore, hell she probably isn’t even going to be Chloe anymore, considering the likelihood of her next proprietor renaming her. “I put a lot of time and effort into her and I don’t want that to go to waste.”

“I know you asked your father to make sure she was alive and all, but do you really think that was the right decision? Even if she gets through the facility just fine, she’s going to be out of the family’s hands eventually. She is going to find her way to a new owner, and whoever that ends up being is going to do whatever they want with her anyways, and that could very much end in her being killed, or something even worse… You aren’t going to see her again, so she’s as good as dead to you anyways, you don’t seriously expect that she’ll ever make her way back to you, do you?” 

“Of course I don’t, Leah.” My father and brother had been urging me to have her killed from the very start, but I never once considered letting that happen, and I refused to let it happen now. “Thank you for your report… you’re dismissed now.”

“Right. Good luck…” She knew that that was her cue to get out of my bedroom and go home, I wasn’t going to be needing her service anytime soon. 

What a terrible night. It was like once again all of my hard work had been completely and utterly destroyed. The world championship finals had been last November, almost a full year ago now, almost a full year since Sophia Cavalier destroyed my hard work the first time. I had spent months trying to make this viable, and in the end it just didn’t happen. 

I had spent the six months following the finals in a state of constant rage, learning as much as I possibly could about Sophia Cavalier and convincing him to let me plot my revenge against her. It was a huge process, trying to make the necessary renovations to my home, arranging for the people I would need to make it happen, getting the family resources necessary to enact my plan, and finally executing my scheme to kidnap and enslave my archrival.

I spent all of May just trying to get her to cooperate, putting up with her escape attempts, and her outright hatred of me to my face.

I spent all of June teaching her the basics of just being my fucking maid, drilling simple skills into her stupid brain, and continuously beating insolence and disrespect out of her, trying to get her to fear me. 

I spent all of July on high alert, as I finally made some progress with that stupid bitch, only barely able to rely on her completing all of her tasks day in and day out. She finally began to truly respect me. She began to see me as her owner, she realized that she relied on me for her survival, and she did her best to keep me happy. 

I spent all of August falling in love with her, trying to get her to fall in love with me as well. I made her my handmaiden, and she made it her mission to serve me. She fell in love with me, she finally submitted to me. She learned her place, she learned her guidelines, she learned what it meant to be mine. 

I spent all of September in heaven, I was happy, and I thought she was happy too, but there were things that were bothering her, things that she couldn’t push past. I saw our fatal flaw, and I did nothing about it, I thought that we were strong enough to get past it, but we weren’t. Now she was gone, and it was all my fault. 

I would spend all of October alone, no Chloe, just me… just Candace. I should be getting prepared for this year’s world championship, but I wasn’t going to, I didn’t want to. It was too soon, following the public death of Sophia Cavalier, Candace St. Clair wouldn’t be making an appearance this year.

My manager had helped me put out a public statement, letting the community know that I wouldn’t be participating in this year’s championship series. But apparently Tallulah wasn’t going to be sparing me from the entirety of the public spotlight.

↞✶↠

“What do you mean you want me to go to the world championship?” My manager called me on the phone, excitedly trying to ramble about something she wanted to mention before she left, but wasn’t able to find the time to talk about. “I thought we had decided I wasn’t playing this year?”

“You aren’t playing this year, that’s not what I’m saying.” 

“Then why do you want me to go?”

“Because dear Candy, I have been in talks with some of the people up at the top, and I’ve secured a really interesting prospect for you, if you were to accept it.”

“And what’s that, Ma’am?”

“I was going to bring it up in person while I had the chance, it just seemed like exactly the wrong time.” I had hardly ever heard Tallie this excited, especially over the phone. “But you, Candace St. Clair, if you choose to accept the position, will be  **hosting** this year’s world championship series~”

“You’re kidding…” My heart genuinely fluttered with excitement at the idea of it. Sure, I wouldn’t be finding myself on stage playing the game, but I would still very much be up on the stage in the spotlight, front and center for the whole event. “Tell me you’re kidding.”

“I’m not kidding, not even in the slightest.”

“Are you sure this is a smart idea?”

“Of course it is, Candace darling. Don’t you trust me?”

“I do trust you Miss, I just-”

“Listen, Candy… it might be hard for you, I know. But I think it could also be good for you.”

“How so?”

“Because your heart may be broken now, but I know you love the game, and I think you need something to help cheer you up right now.”

“But what about Sophia?”

“What about Sophia, dear? She died just earlier this year, that’s why you aren’t competing… but I’d be remiss if I let you sulk for an entire year, never even once making a public appearance.”

“But what if I can’t handle it? What if I get there and I just can’t stop thinking about her?”

“You’re doing this, Candace.” 

“But Miss, I-”

“I’m not letting this whole failed experiment with Sophia Cavalier destroy your career, little one. Whether you believe me or not, this is the right thing to do, you can’t hide for the rest of your life, and you most certainly can’t retire.”

“I’m not planning on retiring, Ma’am.”

“The longer you sit on your cute little ass and do nothing, the more and more likely it is that you just… give up. It’s time to reassociate the world championship with something positive.”

“Like hosting the event?”

“Exactly.”

I sighed, pulling my phone from my head and pondering it over. She’s right, she’s almost always right. “I’ll do it…”

“Good girl.”

“What do I need to do next?”

“Sit tight, let me make some phone calls and get back to you with details… in the meantime, take a break, and answer those voicemails you keep avoiding.”

“I don’t want to meet with  **him** , Tallie…”

“I know you don’t, but you can’t avoid him forever.”

“Right, I’ll set up a meeting with him… maybe in the next couple of weeks.” I bit my lip, shaking my head at the idea. “Talk to you later.”

“Take care, Candy Cane~”

_ Fucking hell.  _ I hung up the phone, tossing it across the room and watching it land on my bed. “I don’t want to host the world championship…”

“Why not?” It was Aria again, she was always somewhere, lurking around the corner waiting for an appropriate moment to step in. 

“Why do you think, Aria?” I got up from my seat, letting the blanket slump back down on the sofa below. I turned my back from Aria, opening up my curled fist and looking down at the little bell in my hand.  _ Chloe’s bell. _

“Is it cuz of Sophia?” She asked, not really needing an answer at all as she stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. 

“Did you finish cleaning up?” I didn’t need to answer her question, so I didn’t. Instead I instinctively defaulted on the one thing I’d gotten used to doing, being a slave driver.

“Doors are locked, dishes are cleaned and put away, cats are fed, and I straightened up everything I could.” Aria took it surprisingly well, trying to be as helpful as she could be, despite deserving more respect from me than I was giving her. “ _ My apologies _ , I don’t know exactly where everything goes, so I just kind of guessed.”

“That’s more than acceptable, thank you.” I sighed loudly, not wanting to think about having to clean my house right now, it was always a chore, and now more than ever it was going to be an extreme pain in the ass, knowing the mental trauma that’s now associated with it. “I guess I finally ought to hire an  **actual** maid, huh?”

“Or you could just buy another slave, couldn’t you?” She smirked, shaking her head at me as she examined her nails, trying to make sure that she didn’t break any of them while cleaning. “I guess that’ll be hard to do while  **she’s** up for sale, huh?”

“Yeah… I’d have better luck getting someone else to do it.” I stepped towards my nightstand, setting down the small little bell in the same spot where I usually kept my bracelet.  _ I’m going to miss that bracelet a lot.  _

“I could do it, if you’d like.” 

I turned to face her, taking in the genuine smile on her face. To say that her offer caught me off guard would be an understatement. “So what, you want to be a slave now?”

She gagged at just the thought of it, clasping one hand over her mouth to keep her from literally wrenching. “Ewww fuck no, not in a million years.”

“Why then?” I scoffed, letting out an exasperated and exhausted sigh as I sat down on the edge of my bed. 

“Because you’re my best friend, and we haven’t gotten to see each other in a while.” She stood there, obviously wanting to step inside and give me a hug, but not willing to do so without my permission. 

“That’s your own fucking fault Aria.” I seethed angrily. It wasn’t my fault that she had always hated Chloe, it was her own. If she wanted to hang out with me more I could have very easily put my slave away for an evening just to have some time alone with her. “You’re the one who refused to come over while she was here.”

“And I’m sorry about that, I really am… but slaves creep me out, a lot. It’s hard to even be around your sister-in-law without heaving.” She bit her lip, her whole body shuddering in disgust. “Look, I’m offering to help, take it or leave it.”

“I haven’t even decided whether or not I’m going to be hiring-”

“For fucks sake, Candace.” She rolled her eyes, groaning at me. “Leah got a new job, Malcolm quit to be with his boyfriend, your manager is off doing whatever freaky shit she gets up to in her offtime…  **and** your slave got taken away.”

“That doesn’t mean I need help.” I glanced towards the closet door, wishing that Aria’s last point wasn’t true. “I can take care of things by myself.”

“But you shouldn’t have to…” Aria frowned, stepping forward into the room and marching right up to face me. “I’m worried about you, Candace.”

“Worried about what, exactly?”

“About you doing something stupid, or hurting yourself, or both…” Aria grabbed me by the hands and pulled me off of the edge of my bed and back onto my feet, squeezing my palms. “I’m worried about you self-destructing.”

“I’m not going to self-destruct.”

“Yeah you fucking are!!” She almost snarled under her breath, a much different sound from her usual mewl and purr. “You did it right after the party, and with Leah when she was here, and just now over the phone…”

“I’m going to be fine…”

“You’re not doing a very good job of convincing me of that, you know.”

“Aria…Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, I want to be alone right now?” 

“I know you do, and that’s totally valid.” She smiled, letting go of my hands and getting up on her tiptoes, pulling me in for a hug. “I just want to make this as easy for you as I can… I want you to be happy…”

“Thank you, Aria…” I smiled, no longer able to hold back my tears as I wrapped my arms around my friend’s waist and burying my head into her shoulder as I sobbed. 

“I’m here for you, Candace.” I felt her tighten her arms around me, holding me close as I cried. “You’re my best friend~”

↞✶↠

I told Aria that I would think about her offer, I made no promises, but I told her that I would eventually get back to her with an answer, and that seemed to satisfy her. 

We hung out for a little bit longer, catching up on everything that had happened since the last time we saw each other, sharing stories of whatever gossip we had been hearing about, before parting ways. 

I sent her home, calling in for a ride to take her back to her house, where my family always had a constant eye on her. She wasn’t allowed to leave the island or even drive around the island herself, the family had somehow succeeded in having her license completely revoked. She wouldn’t be passing through the gates of the bridge that connected us to the mainland, and I was kind of glad for that, not only because it was nice to have my best friend around, but because something was up with her. 

Right, finally, I get some time to myself. There’s no time to be thinking about Aria right now, I don’t really care about what’s up with her, or with Malcolm and his boyfriend, or with Leah and her soon to be ex-husband… though knowing her, there likely wasn’t going to be a divorce at all, not because getting back together was a possibility for them, it wasn’t… it was just that, from Leah’s perspective, it was just easier to become a widow.

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about anyone else, now was the time to be thinking about me and me alone. But that wasn’t going to be happening tonight, there was someone that I couldn’t stop thinking about.

I wanted to think about me and me alone, but I couldn’t stop thinking about me and Chloe. Chloe was still the only thing on my mind.

“This is all my fault, Chloe…” I turned to the door of the guest bedroom after I had seen Aria out of the house, trying my best not to think about her, but failing spectacularly. That bedroom attached to the lobby was going to be Chloe’s someday, and I was so proud of it, I knew just how excited and happy she was going to be when she finally got to see it… except she wasn’t going to get to see it. There were a lot of things we were never going to get to do together.

I had more gifts to give her, things to reward her good behavior with that I would now never get to give to her. I’d gotten her a little dog bed for her cell, and I was going to reward her with it tonight… once this was all over.

But she’s not here now, and she’d never get to use it. It was like I bought it for nothing, like everything I’d done up to this point, it had been for nothing. 

I stared at the thing, shaking my head at myself for buying such a large dog bed that I was never going to get to use.  _ Unless… _

“How much could a dog possibly cost, anyways…” I sighed, disappointed in myself for even entertaining the thought of it, and even more disappointed in myself for already having made up my mind on the matter.

I texted Tallie about the idea, and she seemed pretty enthusiastic about it, ready to jump the gun and make some phone calls before I even wanted her to. Aria was less enthusiastic about it, a lot less enthusiastic about it, but she was immensely supportive. Whatever I thought would help me feel better, she urged me to go ahead and do, and she promised she wouldn’t try to avoid this one like she had the last one.

I looked through my phone to try and find more information about it, but I was stopped once I remembered about my voicemails, all of those missed calls that I hadn’t personally been responding to. I set my phone down, and I stepped away from it. 

“Lord, please make sure that Chloe is okay…” I didn’t pray often, but it seemed like this may have been as good a time as any. Of course I was religious, what kind of person identifies with the name St. Clair if she’s not religious, it was almost more ludicrous to think otherwise. “I’d never forgive myself if something bad happened to her now…”

The road to recovering from this was going to be long and difficult, and honestly, really fucking painful. But I deserved this… this was as much my punishment as it was Chloe’s… and I had to live with that. I had to live with the knowledge that as her master, this was all my fault. I had to live with knowing that I had completely ruined her life, like I had set out to do from the start, but in doing so, I ended up ruining my own life as well.

Hopefully whoever she ended up with would treat her well. She deserved to get away from all of this, from me and my family and everything we do, she didn’t deserve to have to put up with us anymore. 

She needed to move on from me, and I needed to move on from her. But there was something I needed to do before I could truly let go of her. 

I checked my voicemails, writing down the number that he had left for me to get back to him on, and then I punched them in and I dialed them in, finally giving him a long overdue call back. I stepped out onto my porch as I made my phone call, standing outside of my dining room in the dead of night, under the light of the moon and the stars, admiring their reflection in the water as I stared out into the ocean, wanting to dive head first into it and swim away. 

I heard the line being picked up on the other side, honestly quite surprised that he would answer at this time of night, not that I knew exactly what time it was. Though as soon as he did pick up, I realized that it only made sense, there was quite the time gap between us. California was three hours behind us here in Florida, after all. “Hello?”

“Hello, my apologies for calling so late at night, but I think I’m long overdue to return your calls…” I swallowed nervously, my fingers trembling as I held my phone to my ear, nervous to finally be speaking to him for the first time. “This is Candace St. Clair, I was hoping I could speak with Justin Donovan…”

“This is him…” He was clearly just as surprised to be hearing back from me after all this time as I was that he was answering his phone this late at night. “How can I help you?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” I tried to stay positive with him, trying not to think about his former client. “I’m ready to talk…”

It was already late, so we only talked for a little while, a little bit about Sophia, but mostly about the upcoming championship, and it actually helped lift a bit of weight off of my chest to discuss the prospects of hosting this year’s finals after what happened the previous year. We touched base, and then we hung up, leaving me standing there alone once again, gazing out into the beautiful light of the ocean.

I would never get to keep my promise to her… I would never get to take Chloe swimming in the ocean with me… 

I texted Tallie, and she hooked me up with some flights, and some appointments across the country, including a stop to look at puppies to adopt, to try and get my mind off of Chloe for a while. In just two weeks, I would be flying across the country, doing all sorts of things and meeting with all sorts of people in preparation for hosting this year's finals. 

It was honestly kind of exciting, I hadn’t had the freedom to go anywhere or do anything while Chloe was here with me, her absence was almost freeing in a way, however bittersweet that really was. But I wouldn’t want to be going anywhere alone, I needed at least someone to fly across the country with me, and who better than my best friend… 

She said yes, of course she was going to say yes, she was just dying to get away from this place. I would be keeping a good eye on her, not letting her out of my sight, never giving her a chance to escape. She couldn’t be allowed to spill family secrets to the outside world, and it took a hell of a lot of convincing to get my father to agree to it, but he eventually relented. My father loved me after all. 

I would have to keep as tight of a grasp on her as I had with Chloe if I was going to be allowed to have her accompany me, it was almost as if she was going to temporarily be my slave now, a thought that utterly disgusted her… but hey, it was what was going to make me happy, so she agreed. 

_ This is going to be fun. _

_ But first... _

I still couldn’t stop thinking about Chloe, and how much I wanted her to be the one coming with me for this. 

I opened up the door to her cell, I had more than one controller for it of course, I could open it up even from inside of it. It was empty, even emptier than it had been before she had even stepped foot inside of it for the first time. 

It was way past late, I was tired, and just looking at her empty cell was enough to destroy me. I pressed a button on my controller, watching the door seal itself shut behind me. 

If Chloe could sleep in this cell alone for months on end, I could survive inside of it alone for one night… 

“I’m so sorry, Chloe…” I curled up into a ball on the floor of her cell and I cried, pulling my knees to my chest to help me soak up my tears as I sobbed. 

I was never going to get to see her again, and that was my punishment. 

“I miss you so much…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't guessed it yet, yes, i plan on act 3 being a longer series of shorter chapters that swap back and forth between the perspectives of our two lead characters~


	18. Impulse Buy

“Alright toots, up and at ‘em, it’s time to get you on the floor.”

The man, who I recognized as one of the people doing security back during my surgery, as well as two other armed security guards, stepped into my cell. 

He was a deeply unpleasant looking person, his face covered in scars, leaving him looking even scarier than Cyrus did, and he was not playing around when it came to security. 

I was already awake by the time they showed up at my cell, but their arrival still caught me off guard. I had been here for a few days already, and despite me being able to hear the commotion of things happening in the facility around me, the guards had yet to come drag me out of my cell.

I stared at the scars on his face as he made his way to me, unsure of what I was supposed to do, but I would be damned if I let him touch me somewhere he's not supposed to. 

"On your knees." The closer he got to me the more terrified his presence felt, and by the time he got within reach I no longer had the bravery to try and stand up to him.

He grabbed me by the wrist, yanking me off of the bed and onto my feet, before twisting my arm behind my back and forcefully shoving me onto my knees on the floor in front of him.

"O-oww!!" I shuddered with pain as my knees slammed onto the cold stone floor. "Wh-where's Cyrus?"

He didn’t answer, whoever this man was he clearly wasn’t too keen on talking. He just grabbed my other hand and twisted it behind me, binding my wrists together behind my back. 

“Hold her still, Phil.” I craned my neck upwards in time to see and hear someone new stepping into my cell. The site’s primary physician and surgeon, Rebecca Larkin, was the only woman of color I’d met at the facility so far, and I recognized her from when she did my surgery just over a month and a half ago. 

I looked down at the floor, trying to show respect as she stepped in, watching the feet of the two guards at the back make their way out into the hallway, securing the door from the outside. “Good morning, doctor…”

She, like Phil, didn’t so much as offer me a reply. She simply reached down, grabbing me by the chin and tilting my head up to look at her so that she could examine my face. 

“I recognize you this time, that’s for sure. I guess I was wrong when I said things would be getting better soon.” She didn’t even glance over to the man with the scars, and neither did she look at me as she spoke. “St. Clair is a hard woman to please after all.”

“Things did get better for a little while there, Ma’am…” They really did, my last month with Candace had really honestly been wonderful. 

“Well then I hope you’re ready for more good news.” Rebecca Larkin set her clipboard of notes off to the side. “You have some buyers.” 

“Buyers?” I swallowed nervously. I knew that that was supposed to be good news to me, but it really wasn’t. I was supposed to be excited to meet my potential future masters, but I wasn’t. “What happens to me now?”

“Now you shop talking and let me examine you, I’m not here to be your friend, I’m here to make sure you’re ready to be sold.” Doctor Larkin was as friendly as I remembered her being, not very. 

“What’s she got, Doc?” The man behind me tightened my bindings, finally letting go of my arms and standing up.

“She’s been spayed, and that’s what’s important.” Rebecca flipped through her notes, only occasionally glancing downwards at me. “It’ll go a long way towards getting her out of here.”

_Getting me out of here? Is that what they want?_

“Does she need the gag?” The scarred man kicked me, testing the limits of my patience.

“As long as she doesn’t try to bite any of her buyers, no.” Rebecca eyed Phil behind me, waiting for him to stop before turning her attention back to me. “You’re not going to bite anyone are you… Chloe?”

She said she remembered me, but she had to look down at her clipboard to figure out my name, something which annoyed me quite a bit more than it really should have. “No, Ma’am…”

“These people are very important people, 0000. I’m going to need more than just that.”

“My mouth is shut, Ma’am… I would never bite a potential buyer…”

“I would hope so, or else we’d have to start showing you off to our more… degenerate clientele.”

The way she described their normal clients gave me pause. Anyone who came to look at me in the prospect of turning me into their slave was not only a degenerate, but a criminal and a monster. “How are these buyers different, Ma’am?”

“They’ve been vetted, and they are reliable.” Dr. Larkin continued, making sure all of the paperwork was in order for today. “They are very special buyers who’ve been given the exclusive right to get the first look at you before the normal buyers get a chance.”

“So they’re all important people, then?” I swallowed nervously, letting Phil behind me pull me up to my feet without making a fuss. “I wouldn’t bite someone of importance, I promise.”

“Good, because if you did, very bad things would happen to you. They are all friends of the family after all.” Rebecca turned, beginning to head out. “They have all been screened and approved by Mr. Griffin himself, so you had better do whatever you can to impress them, if one of these clients doesn't go for you, well… it’d be like throwing you to the dogs, and I can **guarantee** that you don’t want that to happen.”

“I’ll do my best, Ma’am.”

“Good enough for me.” She smirked, looking back up at the man behind me. “Get her onto the floor, Mr. Burke.”

↞✶↠

I wasn’t the only slave currently up for sale, there were three other girls on the sale floor with me, all of us set up for potential buyers to come take a look at us. 

“You’ve got five today.” The man, Phil Burke, got me set up and restrained in a smaller room connected to the bigger underground room.

“Five what, Sir?” I bit my lip nervously, my eyes still pointed down trying to show him the respect that he expected from a slave waiting to be sold. 

“Five buyers are coming to look at you.” He kept his eyes up, not really wanting to look at me. Phil quite obviously had a lot of work on his plate, having to deal with four slaves being sold, his job was to sell people, and that clearly couldn’t be a very easy job at all. 

Phil set a clipboard down on a table inside of the room, from just a quick look at it I could see that it contained a print out of my profile, conveniently laid out for potential buyers to see. 

“What am I supposed to do, Sir?” My heart was thumping out of my chest, dreading the idea of meeting any of the buyers. I still wasn’t ready to belong to anyone that wasn’t Candace. 

“Whatever they tell you to do.” Phil made sure everything in the room was set up and ready, and then he left, presumably to attend to one of the other girls. 

I wanted to vomit. 

There was absolutely no way that I was going to get through this, I didn’t want to just get sold off to some random guy that I’ve never met before. I wasn’t even asked about _my_ preferences when it came to being paired up with a new master, and I supposed that it was only fair, I am a slave after all, I was expected to devote myself completely and fully to whoever did end up becoming my new master, but I was going to do my damned best to scare off anyone who I didn’t personally want to find myself becoming the personal possession of. 

“And your name is?”

Speaking of said people. 

“Chloe.” I swallowed nervously, right off the bat I wasn’t liking this very much at all. Not only was my first potential buyer a man, he was also a very uninteresting seeming one. Sure, he was young, he had that going for him, an advantage that I was sure that not all of my potential buyers had. But he looked smarmy and awful, and I very much did not want him to be my future master. I’ll pass on that, thank you.

“And… what are you good for exactly, Chloe?” 

“Not much at all, Sir.” He scoffed and shook his head as soon as he saw that. Yeah, no thanks, absolutely not going to happen. He didn’t seem very interested in me to begin with, and there was no way I was going to dedicate my life to someone who was only going to give me an occasional passing glance while expecting me to do all of my work. 

I never learned his name, but he was in and out in the blink of an eye, and I applauded him for that. 

  
  


“Very interesting~”

Look at that!! A woman!! I can work with that!!

“Hello, Miss!” She wasn’t quite as young as the first man, but she wasn’t an old woman, she must have been in her late thirties to early forties, but she was at least moderately attractive, not that that was the most important thing for a master to have, because it wasn’t.

The most important thing when it came to potential masters was how they were going to treat me, and from the looks of it, she wasn’t going to treat me very well.

“Hmmmm… I expect my slaves to hold their tongue.” She shook her head and sighed, taking a look at my profile, paying very little attention to me directly for a good while.

 _How am I supposed to respond to that?_ I whimpered under my breath, sighing to myself as I looked down, trying not to bother the woman. This wasn’t going to work either, I could tell that, but I was unable to express that to her, despite how much I wanted to. 

“Cooking, check… Cleaning, check… Anything specific that you’re good at darling?” She smiled, seemingly more willing now to have some sort of conversation with me. 

“I… have been described as a handmaiden…” I whined internally, trying not to be blatant about the fact that I didn’t want her to buy me. 

“And what does that mean, exactly?” She rolled her eyes, looking me up and down as she bit her lip. 

“I wait on my master hand and foot, Ma’am…” I did my best not to look at her, keeping my eyes from making anything close to eye contact. 

“Right, well…” She stood up, no longer interested in continuing to pursue me. “I’ll talk to my husband about you, then…”

  
  


Two down, three to go, I suppose. 

But the next visitor was the least thrilling of the group by far. A man, this one even older than Candace’s father, just looking at him made me shudder. Though, he didn’t seem a lot nicer than the last two visitors had been.

“Oh, don’t worry sweetheart… I’m not after your body, it’s alright to cover up…” He was actually kind of a sweet old man. He said it was okay for me to cover up, and I would have if it weren’t for the fact that my arms were bound behind my back. “That was a little joke, of course.”

“Thank you, Sir.” I gave him a pleasant smile, sighing to myself. He was a lot nicer than the last two, and he seemed a lot more interested in me, but I still didn’t want to entertain any thought of belonging to the man, and I think he understood that in the end. 

It was honestly kind of weird, everyone thus far was treating me a lot better than I had expected them to, it was like I really was getting some sort of preferential treatment after all. But I was starting to get nervous, none of them had liked me so far, and if I didn’t manage to convince one of them to buy me, I was going to be in for a rather bad time. 

  
  


“Well hello there, cutie~”

This time it was another woman, cute, young, and pepper. She had dark brown hair, and subtle brown eyes, she reminded me of Candace just a little bit, just not in the looks department.

“Hello, Miss.” 

She smiled at me, grinning eagerly as soon as she saw me, she was cute. “You’re awfully cute aren’t you?”

“Thank you, Miss…” I couldn’t help but blush at the compliment, especially from another attractive woman. 

“You’re **very** welcome~” She had the confidence that Candace had, and an attitude that I remembered seeing from her when my archrival and I first met, long before she kidnapped me and made me into her slave. “Are you into other women, Chloe?”

“A-absolutely…” This I could **definitely** work with. She was young and attractive, **and** she was gay. She was the best candidate thus far, now it was time for me to genuinely try and sell myself to her. “Why… are you?”

“You could say something like that, I think.” She smiled, taking a seat at the table and picking up the clipboard. “Chloe is a cute name!!”

“Thank you, Miss.” I smiled at her, appreciating the compliment. “My last owner gave it to me…”

Unfortunately **that** killed it for her, she clearly wasn’t in the market for a **used** slave, and she didn’t actually give me much attention from there. 

I wasn’t too torn up about it, but it was quite a shame, she had been the best candidate by far, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the sight of my fifth and final visitor for the day. 

  
  


It was another man, not quite as young as the first one, but he was most certainly not an older man. He was around Cyrus’ age, and his aura was certainly comparable to Candace’s older brother. 

“So I’m in the market for a maid that I can have some fun with.” He slammed the door shut behind him, trying to make some sort of an impression as stepped into the room. “Know where I could find someone like that?”

Fuck, he does have a kind of swagger about him, and I could most certainly do worse, but still… 

“I’m your girl, Sir…” I sighed, relenting to the idea that maybe I could settle for something like… this. “At least, I could be…”

“Heh, I like the way you think…” He took a seat, examining my profile. “I gotta ask though, are you some sort of well behaved good girl type, or something?”

“What do you mean, Sir?”

“I mean the other girls have way more security on them than you do.”

“So you’ve seen the other girls then?”

“I have, I came to look at all of the girls.” He smirked, shooting me a wink. “You’re one of the more attractive looking ones, though~”

“Thank you, Sir~” I chuckled under my breath, unable to keep myself from blushing at the thought. “You’re just trying to be kind, I’m sure.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I’m nothing special, Sir.”

“I assure you, I’m not just playing around with you.” He set the clipboard down, shaking his head at me. “I’ve been a fan for a while~”

I paused and looked up at him, taking a moment before realizing what it was he was talking about. “Wh-what do you mean, Sir?”

“I mean, Chloe is a cute name and all, but…” He set down the clipboard and smirked, turning to me and looking me over to make sure I was who he thought I was. “I think Sophia’s an even cuter name, don’t you think?”

He knows who I am, I have fans after all. “If you mean objectively… I think I prefer Chloe, if we’re being honest~”

This was new, I hadn’t actually been accosted by a fan in quite a while, it seemed almost alien to me now. I was the one on the sale floor, I was supposed to be the one trying to impress him, but knowing that he sees me as who I used to be almost put me above him in a way. Sure, I was the slave, but I didn’t really have to do anything to endear myself to him. I was the famous one, and he was the nobody. 

At least normally he would have been some nothing fan, but here and now he had all sorts of power over me that I couldn’t fight. 

He knelt down, putting his hands on my cheek and watching my reaction as he slid his hand downwards, caressing my body. “Stand up, doll.”

He commanded, and I obeyed, rising to my feet with him as he walked me to the table. “Time to take you on a test drive, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Sir…” I choked on my anger, doing as I was told as he directed me to the table and bent me over. My hands still bound behind my back as he got me into position. 

“Gonna need to get rid of these, for sure~” He ran his hands along my skin, tracing the outline of my brands with his finger.

“Yes, Sir… whatever you say…” 

“Quiet. Let me have my fun now.”

↞✶↠

I shouldn’t have been surprised. I knew it was going to happen to me, but I still wasn’t mentally prepared for it. To be bent over and raped by someone I didn’t know, didn’t like, and didn’t want anything to do with. 

I was helpless. I have no power here, I never did, and I never would. If that man wanted me enough to buy me, there was nothing I could do to stop him. There was nothing I could do, it was hopeless. 

That was it, the fifth and final buyer, and he was the only who had shown any interest in actually going through with buying me. 

The first man was almost completely uninterested, but even if he forced me to clean his house without ever really acknowledging me, I would be better off with someone who wouldn’t abuse and violate me. 

The first woman might not have been perfect, but she knew what she wanted, and she wanted a maid rather than a sex slave. It wouldn’t have been fun, but she at least had the natural sort of dominance capable of keeping me in line. 

The second man was old and married, but he also didn’t want me for my body. He was actually kind of sweet and nice, and I could have eventually gotten used to working for him. 

The second woman was honestly my favorite out of all of them, I would have been more than willing to belong to her, but she wasn’t after someone who had already been used and owned before. 

But it was this last man who had shown the most interest in me, and I hated it. Out of all of them, he was the last person I would choose, but I wasn’t the one with the power to choose. 

The door into the smaller room opened up, I was expecting Mr. Burke to come in and drag me away back to my cell, but in stepped someone I didn’t recognize at all. 

“I’m only going to be a minute, I swear.” It was a woman. She wasn’t dressed quite as fancy as the other men and women who had been in here to take a look at me today, but she was most certainly not dressed like commonfolk, the piece of her outfit that stood out most to me was the cane she seemed to have with her. 

She put her cane aside, letting it lean against the wall. Perhaps it was for show, she wasn’t as young as I was, but she most certainly wasn’t an older woman. She was still young, looking to be right around Leah’s age, mid thirties at most, and it did appear that the cane was almost certainly just for show, judging on how she walked perfectly fine without it. 

“I’ve only got you for a few minutes, before they come in to drag me out of here.” She stood directly in front of my kneeling body, looking down at me from above and giving me a little wink as she spoke. “But I just couldn’t resist~”

“I- I’m sorry… I wasn’t expecting anyone else today, Ma’am.” I looked up at her, taking in the sight of it all, and there was a lot to take in here, and I was not ready to take in the sight of her. 

The woman had a short yet elegant head of light brown, almost dirty blonde hair, which she kept cut into a wavy layered bob just above her shoulders. It was almost weird for me to see a group of people with actual color in their skin and hair.

Candace’s skin was ghastly pale, and her hair was a platinum blonde with little to no pigment whatsoever. In contrast, this woman didn’t have the scary blonde hair that Candace had, or even blonde hair at all, hers was more of a light brown. But she did have blue eyes, hers weren’t as piercing or vast as my previous owner’s were. Her greyish-blue eyes were subtle and sort of foggy, giving her a more calm gaze. 

But what stood out the most about her appearance was her height. At just under 6 feet, Candace was tall, even for a trans woman, but this woman just about blew her out of the stormy blue water.

“I know you weren’t, I didn’t really set up an appointment, but I just couldn’t stay away…” She smiled eagerly, getting down on her knees in front of me, dwarfing me even as she knelt. “It’s kind of a last minute decision, but last time I passed up on the chance to come see a slave day one, they were gone before I got a chance to come take a peek.”

_Is she… talking to me? Who is she? Why is she here? Is she a potential buyer? Why is she just… making conversation?_

“But you… you were recommended highly, why is that?” She bit her lip, staring me up and down as she got a good look at my body. “You’re pretty… but I’m not after pretty, I need a maid.”

“A-a maid?” My ears would have perked up if I was a dog, but it was a good sign to hear. Not only was she a pretty woman, but she also seemed to be after something more than just my body. “I can be a maid…”

“Oh yeah? Where are you from?” She gave me a friendly smile, actually looking me in the eyes as I spoke. “What did you do before all of this?”

“I… well I’m from California, but-” I paused, tilting my gaze downwards to show her respect. “But, I can be a maid… I have more than the basics that they teach here, I’ve been properly trained as a maid, Ma’am.”

“I’m curious where you learned those, exactly… What’s your name, doll?” She rose to her feet, very briefly turning away from me to scan what information about me was printed out for her to read. “Gosh, I’m in such a rush that I’m forgetting to even look at your paperwork…”

“Chloe. My name is Chloe, Ma’am.” I took a deep breath, trying to cover the brand on the back of my waist with my hands, which were still bound behind my back. I didn’t want to let her know that I had been owned before. 

“Chloe is a pretty name, I like that… apparently you have no last name though.” She set the packet down, turning back and smiling at me. “Is there a story behind that?”

“It’s complicated, Ma’am… I-”

“You’ve been owned before, right. That makes sense.” She picked up her cane and twirled it in her left hand, and for just a moment I was sure she was going to leave then and there. “I don’t mind that, at least at face value… it means you’ve been properly trained on being a maid, and you theoretically know how to fully devote yourself to someone, and trust me, that’s quite important to me… but what gives me pause is the fact that you were returned for some reason…”

She put the end of her cane beneath my chin and used it to tilt my head upward to look at her. “Why did that happen, Chloe?”

I swallowed nervously, letting her take control of my movements with her cane. “Permission to speak freely, Ma’am?”

“Permission granted.”

“There is a lot that I can’t say about my last master without giving away her identity, and keeping her identity safe is very important to me, especially right now… but things just didn’t work out the way she was expecting them to.” I relaxed, watching and feeling the other woman pull the cane out from under my chin. “She liked me, and I liked her, but her family didn’t like me so much.”

“Family business is always dreadful business, isn’t it?” She sighed, setting the tip of her cane back down on the floor. “I’m fortunate to have a very loving family myself~” 

“I grew up in a foster home, Ma’am…” I kept my tone steady, continuing to show her the respect she deserved as I slowly lowered my head back down. “I’ve never had so much of a family, so it was quite devastating that hers didn’t like me.”

“You poor thing!” She scoffed, quickly glancing down at the time and shaking her head. “That’s absolutely dreadful.”

“It wasn’t too terrible Ma’am, you shouldn’t worry about me.”

“Oh hush… I’ll worry about you all I want.” She shook her head, almost cooing at me from above. “I hate the thought of parents abandoning their children… I would never do such a thing to my kids.”

“You have kids, Ma’am?”

“Just one. As well as a loving wife to help me take care of ‘em~” She smirked, almost bragging as she spoke. “But don’t let that intimidate you, I suppose…” 

“Intimidate me?”

“My wife and I are looking for a maid. We have a large home, and neither of us are very keen on doing the housework when we can have servants do that for us.” She stepped towards me again, but not before taking a quick glance out of the room to make sure that no one was coming to escort her out. “My wife and I are very much in love… but I just know for a fact that she wouldn’t be able to keep her eyes off of you~”

I couldn’t help but blush. She was being so direct, so nice, so… sweet to me. Something that Candace never really softened up to be, was sweet. 

“And don’t get me wrong, I can share… but my dearest wife already has two slaves, and **_I_ **really am after a maid, and not much more.” Her soft expression turned stern as she once again kneeled in front of me, staring into my soul. “I’m being nice now… but I would expect a level of perfection from one of my slaves~”

“As you should, Ma’am.” I spoke without hesitation, something which clearly excited her greatly. “Regardless of who my master is… they deserve perfection.”

“I like hearing that, I really do.” She smiled, giving me a wink before getting back up on her feet. “Though, I am afraid that it’s time for me to go…”

“Thanks for coming to see me, Miss.” I gave her a smile, still blushing. “You’ve been my favorite all day…”

She definitely got a kick out of hearing that. “I hope you find a good home, Chloe.”

“I hope so too, Ma’am. Thank you…”

↞✶↠

“Good news again… You’ve got an offer~” 

Doctor Larkin stepped into my cell, two guards following her inside. “Guess you won’t be getting thrown to the dogs after all~”

It was a relief to hear, that last man might have been bad, but he must still be a lot better than any other arbitrary buyer might be. “What happens to me now, Ma’am?”

“Now it’s time to get you ready for your new owner.” The two guards stepped forward, helping me to my feet so that they could deliver me to where I needed to go next. “We won’t have specifics until we know which one has purchased you, but… we can take care of that brand tonight.”

I swallowed nervously, choking back tears at the thought of Candace’s initials being permanently removed from me. “Yes, Ma’am…”

“Cheer up zeroes.” She smirked at me as she stepped out of the room. “You’ll be spending tonight in Griffin’s room~”

Great. That was exactly what I wanted, to spend a night in bed with Cyrus Griffin, disgusting. Not only was I getting Candace’s initials burned off of me, but it was Candace’s brother who was going to do it. But I had promised him my full cooperation, so that was what he was going to get.

It was a decently large bedroom, especially considering where it was at, apparently Cyrus often stayed the night here at the facility, he probably still toyed with and raped numerous women here, a thought which thoroughly disgusted me.

There was only one bed, of course there was only one bed, I was either going to have to sleep in the same bed with him, or on the floor like a dog… and I honestly preferred the latter. 

I was a fool for believing him when he said he wasn’t going to rape me… Because Candace would most certainly be none the wiser… 

The shower was on when I arrived, so I just sat on the edge of the bed, my back to the bathroom door as I awaited him to finish up and arrive, not wanting to get even a glimpse at his naked body. It was completely hopeless to think that I could get away from it, I had already been raped once today, and the multiple guards posted outside of the already locked soundproof door were there to make sure I was helpless to stop it from happening again.

I took a deep breath as I heard the shower turn off, the door opening up mere minutes later, trying to keep my back turned to him as he stepped inside. 

“I did my best. I got people interested in buying me. I’m going to be out of your hair soon.” I sighed, swallowing my pride and doing my best not to crack under the pressure I was feeling. “I hope you’re happy, Griffin…” 

“I’m not really happy at all…” That’s not Cyrus’ voice. “I’m going to miss you, Chloe…”

I turned to face her, biting my lip in shame. “Liz…”

“Hi, Chloe…” She wasn’t her usual peppy self, she was nervous and hesitant, and we both knew why. “Master is actually out of state right now, so I’m just as trapped here as you are at the moment…”

“Did you… are you the one who wanted to see me?”

“Well yeah… but I don’t have any control, so I guess this was my husband’s idea.”

“Where is he?”

“With his sister, I think. His little sister, not his older sister… I think he saw her last week.” She smiled, still drying her hair, completely unashamed to be totally naked in front of me. “I don’t think he wanted to be here when you finally did get sold.”

I paused, sitting back down on the bed, now facing Liz. “Why not?”

“He acts all tough, but really he can’t stand seeing Candace upset.” She smiled, rolling her eyes at the thought of him. “He thinks if he were here, he might not be able to go through with the sale…”

“He doesn’t want to see me go...” I actually couldn’t help but smile at the thought of that. “I guess he does kind of care about me, huh?”

“He does, and so do I~” Liz set her towel aside, now completely dry. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” 

“To have your brands burned off, stupid.”

“I thought Cyrus wanted to be the one to do that.”

“He did, but he’s not here.” Liz smirked mischievously. “So I get to have the honor instead!!”

Liz was doing her god damned best to make it look like she was fine, but she wasn’t. 

This was Cyrus inflicting some twisted backwards punishment on his slave. He was trying to torture Liz as much as he was trying to torture me. He wanted to hammer it into both of our heads that I no longer belonged to Candace.

I needed to come to terms with that, and so did Elizabeth. 

“I hope it’s not too tight.”

“It’s fine, I promise.” My hands were now bound in front of me, secured to the headboard of the bed as I kneeled there. I could feel the heat of the branding iron in Liz’s hand behind me.

“I thought this was going to be fun, but…” She whined, not wanting to do this. “It’s really not.”

“I’m not sure I’m supposed to be the one consoling you, Liz.” I pinched my eyes shut, wishing she would just get it over with. “I’m not going to beg you for it… just, please…”

“Only cuz you said please~”

It was miserable in just about every way possible. It hurt more than either of the first two brands had, and I didn’t even have the joy of knowing that it was coming from someone I loved.

Candace was painful, but I knew deep down that she loved me. 

↞✶↠

I was reduced to a sobbing, blubbering mess by the time it was all over. Liz wasn’t Candace, and she most certainly wasn’t Cyrus. She was too soft to keep me bound to the bed, writhing in agony, and she most certainly was too soft to do it again a second time right afterward. 

It wasn’t the pain that really did it for me though, it was the feeling of emptiness behind that pain. When Candace struck me, I could feel her passion and desire behind every move. But today, all I could feel was emptiness. 

Empty submission, empty pain, empty pleasure. I just couldn’t stand it anymore.

That brunette woman I met today was nice, but she most certainly wasn’t Candace, and I needed Candace. 

“I can’t do this anymore, Liz…” I just about bit through my lip, choking on my pure untempered anger. “I can’t keep going like this…”

“Don’t say that… you’ll learn to love it, I promise~” She snickered, trying to keep positive even in the face of whatever it was that I was feeling. 

“No I won’t, Liz. I don’t care who I end up with, I-” I growled angrily, hiding my face behind one arm as I laid on my back, writhing in pain. “I can’t love them…”

“Oh come on…” She sighed, trying not to get emotional herself. “Just because you couldn’t find it in yourself to love Candace doesn’t mean that it can’t happen.”

“But… that’s the thing…” I whimpered, pulling my arm away and letting the tears start to roll down my cheeks as I sat up. “I do love Candace…”

She scoffed, growing angrier at me by the second. “If you really loved her, you shouldn’t have been such a little bitch…”

“But I do love her, Liz…” I sobbed quietly, gently wiping the tears from my eyes. “I want to go back to her…”

“You…” She snarled under her breath, trying not to show any hints of emotion on her face. “…What?”

“So I made one stupid mistake, okay… I want to go back to her!!”

I winced, flinching in terror as Liz raised her hand against me, smacking my across the face, much like her own master might have done to her for speaking out of line. “You **can’t** go back to her, Chloe… you know that…”

I grabbed her hand with mine, holding it as close to my chest as I could. “I know, I just-”

“I don’t want this either, you stupid moron.” Liz sat in front of me on the bed, a furiously distraught scowl on her face. “But you have a **new** master now.”

“I know I do… but-”

“No buts about it, cocksleeve.” I felt myself being backed into a corner as Liz approached me, grabbing my wrists and pushing them to the bed below as she slowly climbed on top of me, glaring down at me from above. “You can’t have her… you belong to someone else now.”

I blushed as I looked up at her, growing flustered at finding myself being pinned below the weight of another, much more attractive, woman. “Liz…”

“It’s okay, Chloe.” She smirked at me, slowly leaning in and pressing her lips against mine, planting a passionate kiss onto my lips with her own. “I’m hot, I know~”

I whimpered, feeling a surprised squeak slipping out through my lips as I felt Liz push her knee against my vulva, pressing into me. “P-please be gentle…”

“Pffft, gentle?” She pressed harder, watching my tears melt away as she taunted me from above. “This is supposed to be a **real** party, not a pity party. What are you, a pansy~?”

“I **hate** parties, Liz…” I whined, pouting up at her. 

“That’s cuz you’ve never been to a fun party.” She purred at me, licking her lips hungrily. “You can be a sour puss tomorrow, but tonight we’re gonna celebrate.”

“I have nothing to celebrate, Liz…”

“Sure you do!!” She grinned devilishly. “You just got a new master, didn’t you?”

“Well yeah, but-”

“Then let’s celebrate that, pup.” She let go of my wrists, letting her hands trail down my arms, landing on my breasts. “Let’s celebrate you getting a new master… how’s that sound?”

I blushed even harder feeling her hands pressing down on my breasts, desperate for her to keep going. “But what about our masters?”

“Your master hasn’t finished buying you yet~” She grinned eagerly, squeezing my breasts as hard as she could, extracting a desperate squeak from me. “And you don’t seriously think I would be doing this if I didn’t already have my master’s permission, do you?”

“No…” I smiled up at her, rolling my eyes as I gave into her peer pressure. “Just don’t _misuse_ me…”

“Don’t worry mutt, I was a hooker, I know what I’m doing~” She purred eagerly, licking her lips.

There was one thing that I had to admit, I had never had sex with a woman before Candace had grabbed ahold of me with her evil claws… but that had clearly changed. “Yes, Ma’am~”

“Ready to have your world rocked, bitch?”

“I was born ready~”


	19. The Cat's Meow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's another chapter!! This one is mostly out so quickly because i've had it mostly written for a few weeks now~
> 
> please enjoy~!!

It was the late evening, at the end of September. I could have been anywhere else in the world right then, I could have been back at home rehearsing for hosting the next world championship, but instead I was having dinner with Justin Donovan.

_ Why am I having dinner with Justin Donovan? _

The answer was easy, of course. Justin Donovan had called me, several times in fact, to try and set up some sort of meeting, and to try and keep face, I finally relented. 

I didn’t want to meet with him, but I couldn’t let myself seem too suspicious, I couldn’t let him know what was going on. He was just too persistent in trying to get in contact with me. 

_ What did you even see in this guy?  _ Sure, he was handsome, but he wasn’t my type, and he most certainly wasn’t Chloe’s type.  _ Is his dick just that big or something? _

I could get through a single dinner session alone with Justin Donovan. Chloe had had dinner alone with him countless times, but I wasn’t Chloe, I was Candace St. Clair.    
Justin Donovan was Chloe’s ex-boyfriend, and her former manager. The late Sophia Cavalier’s manager.

“I apologize that it took so long to get back to you on this. After everything that happened, I couldn’t find the energy to just… throw myself back into things. I needed time to process.” I knew exactly why I was here, but I had no idea why he was here. 

“It’s alright. I needed time to myself for the same thing, so I’m kind of glad this waited for a few good months…” He was rather slick, he actually looked like more of a sleazebag the longer I saw him. I was lying to his face of course, but he was doing the same. If he really needed time to himself to recover, he wouldn’t have been so persistent in trying to get in contact with me. 

“What prompted you to want to bring me all the way out here to meet with you, Mister Donovan?”

He got a small chuckle out of that. “It was your idea to fly all the way out here to meet me, Miss Clair. I was perfectly willing to come to you~”

“I thought it only appropriate having kept you waiting for so long of course.” I slowly sipped from my ice tea, admiring the restaurant. “Thank you so much for picking out the venue though, it’s stunning.”

“Thank you, it’s always been my favorite.” He mimicked my movement, holding his own glass in one hand as he drank. “I just wanted to touch base with you I suppose.”

“How so?”

“I’m sure many many people have reached out for you about your feelings about what happened with Sophia.” 

“More than I would have liked, yes.”

“That bad?”

“Of course. I felt  **terrible** when I found out… it was heartbreaking.”

“It really was…” He sighed, setting his glass back down. “I can’t help but feel guilty.”

“I can imagine. Having been so close to her.”

“It’s crushing, what happened. If I had known, I would have done something… but there’s nothing that I can do now, I just can’t believe I never even noticed.”

“Never noticed what?”

“The signs… It was just like she was fine one day, and then the next day I found out that she literally drove her own car off a bridge and into the ocean… feels like I’m partially to blame.”

Shit, now I was beginning to feel guilty, I couldn’t imagine what the guy was going through thinking that Sophia had driven herself off a cliff during a suicidal depression episode. I knew I wasn’t going to be getting through dinner without mentioning her, but he really didn’t waste time.

“I can’t imagine how you must feel Justin, especially in the months since. I know that there’s been a lot of eyes on you.”

“There have been, and there have been a lot of eyes on you, too.”

“At first I couldn’t fathom why I was being dragged into the spotlight because of it… but after a little while I understood, especially considering how… suspicious it all seemed at first.”

“How did that go, if I might ask?”

“It’s not about me of course, Sophia died, and it was a tragedy… People were justifiably upset when they found out, I was upset too. But it made me really angry that some people started pointing fingers at me… I was upset  **too** , I was a fan of hers as well. After what happened to her, I just couldn’t find the energy to face these accusations of having done something to her. They even did an entire investigation into me to try and grasp at straws for an explanation, but… people just took my silence as an admission of guilt.” 

“I understand that completely… there was an investigation conducted looking into me as well.”

“Maybe part of the reason I just didn’t want to talk with you was just because I thought maybe you were convinced that I was somehow to blame as well.”

It was a fine line to be walking, but I was pretty good at lying, it was part of my job. I  **was** to blame for Sophia’s death. I was the one who seized control of her power steering, smashed her car through the railing of the bridge late in the night and sent her plummeting into the water. I was the one who had her taken to and then declared dead at the hospital. I was the one who pretended to have her cremated for her funeral, and then secretly had her and her car both shipped across central America to me. I didn’t do any of these things personally, but I was the one who arranged for them to happen, I made them happen. I killed Sophia Cavalier, and I did it with ease. 

A simple investigation into me was doomed to fail from the start. I had gotten a Master’s degree in computer science as a front for learning the ins and outs of money laundering. I had covered up all of my trails, leaving no trace of my deeds. They found nothing on me, just as I planned it. But even as we continued to make almost friendly conversation I could tell he was onto me, he knew something. 

Justin and I had done business in the past, though it was mostly through my own manager, Tallie Paciente. Tallie knew about Chloe from the start of course, gods did she know, that woman was a monster. Chloe wasn’t the only one guilty of doing risky business with her manager, though I hadn’t really had the time to find myself under Tallie’s boot with everything that was going on, I had been preoccupied with Chloe. 

I had expected a call from her about possibly spending a weekend ‘catching up’ before the next professional season began, but she had instead urged me to spend a weekend flying out to San Francisco to meet with mister Donovan. On top of just not wanting to meet with the guy, I hadn’t really had the time, I had a girl locked up in my closet that I had to pay attention to. But now I had all the time in the world. It was bittersweet, but Chloe was no longer my problem.

It was  **not** bittersweet, it was  **awful** . I missed watching her stupid pig face going down on my cock. 

Technically, I still had things to hide from him, but I no longer had that all important something to lose. Even if he miraculously figured out that I was in possession of Chloe, he could no longer acquire her from me, I didn’t have her. 

It was time to move on, to return to business as usual. As I prepared to return to the public spotlight for the first time in months, my time with Chloe had drawn to a close. 

I had gotten my time in the sun, but there would be no endless summer, it was time for my midsummer madness to come to an end. I wanted to be over Chloe, but I knew I never would be. Every sun has to set eventually, but I wasn’t yet ready to close the book on my love for her. Our story wasn’t over. 

I couldn’t get her off of my mind.

“So, what was your relationship with Sophia like?”

He paused, taking a moment to try and discern what exactly I meant by that.  _ Whoops, I wasn’t supposed to know about that. _

“Is this on or off the record, Ms. St. Clair?” He chuckled to himself, finishing off his glass just in time for the appetizers to be delivered, handing his glass off to the waitress. “We were  _ something  _ together, that’s for sure… but I’m not sure that’s either here nor there~”

“Off the record, of course, Mr. Donovan. It is at this point semi public information that you and her were involved in some form of romantic and or sexual relationship… But I’m not one to speculate, so I want it straight from you. Give me the dirty details~”

“There’s not much of a story to be told, I’m afraid-”

“Oh don’t be like that Justin, if I may call you Justin… Give me something here, recount some of her stories to me, please… I’d think it’d help me to know a little bit more about who she was, at her best.”

“Right.” He smiled, chewing on his food intermittently as he continued to chat. “Sophia was pretty brazenly a lesbian. But yes, we were together at one point.”

“Something you felt that you needed to keep private… or secret from the public?”

“No, actually. It was a long time ago, way before she was a public figure.”

“Right, so then how did you two meet?”

“Well, before I became the manager for her esports career, I was actually her manager at gamestop-”

“And that’s how you two met?”

“Kind of, but not really- but kind of… See, she was adopted, and she lived on a deficit of money and an excess of time. She didn’t really  **play** video games so much as she liked watching others play them, at least at first.” He paused to chew, trying not to choke. “She liked reading gaming publications, remind me to tell you about her magazine thing later- but we met when I was just working there as a clerk, and she actually applied to work there once and got turned down, but she still hung out there a lot.”

“Let me guess, you interviewed her again when you became manager, and you hired her then.”

“Bingo. Look, she was cute~!”

“She was, wasn’t she?”

“Forgive me for just kinda ranting about her life’s story… but it is helping, I think.”

“By all means, continue~”

“She got her hands on some money, so she got into starcraft, and holy hell was she good. I kept telling her to play competitively, but it took her months before she was even confident enough to play in front of me. Look, there’s a lot of yada yada, but basically-” He stopped, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. “She felt weird sucking her manager’s dick, so she quit.”

I giggled, knowing very well how much of an angel Chloe was with her mouth. “A proud lesbian, huh?”

“I’m getting to it, Candace- If I may call you Candace?”

“You may~”

“So she lived in a foster home, and she was always kind of a punk, she got along with the other girls so poorly that she had to sleep in a bedroom full of boys, not that she should have been trusted in a bedroom full of teenage girls… but the  **magazine** ~”

“The magazine?”

“Promise you won’t spill all of this to the public, but growing up she had this magazine full of pictures of naked women, and for some reason her foster parents let her keep it just because she was a girl~”

“Oh my god, really?”

“I’m only telling  **you** this because it’s you, and Chloe kind of looked up to you.”

I paused, a lump forming in my throat. “...She did?”

“She did…” He sighed. “She moved in with me, she had to so that she could work her next job as event security, and by that point we were pretty steady together. We even moved from that little one bedroom apartment I was staying in to another apartment together.”   
“So what’s this about me?”

“She worked event security at this gaming conference center, and I remember one day she came home and she was just… gushing about you.”

My heart fluttered at the thought of Chloe gushing about me long before I ever noticed her. “About me?”

“She was this starcraft superfan, always keeping up with the esports scene, and you were her favorite rookie. She was just melting with happiness about getting to meet you.”

“I feel bad for not remembering that.”

“She wasn’t shy, but she wasn’t exactly outgoing… and I knew long before she was willing to admit it to herself that she preferred women over men.”

“Oh?”

“Look… it’s not exactly easy to talk about how she realized her sexuality while she was with me… but once she had, she was a lot happier. At least I thought she was.” He stopped for several moments, and I wondered whether I should say something to fill in the gap. “She dove headfirst into esports, with no idea what she was doing… She was living alone, doing everything by herself, and aside from me she really didn’t have any friends. But she needed a manager, and I had plenty of experience with managing her.”   
  


“Justin. Why am I here?” I stopped him. “What’s really going on?”

“Like I said, I just wanted to touch base with-”

“That’s not what this is, Mr. Donovan. Clearly you’re here to talk about her, or else you wouldn’t have all of this prepared ahead of time.” I calmly finished my own drink, just in time to hand the empty glass off to the waitress as she delivered our food. “I wouldn’t have flown all the way out here if I thought that you just wanted to chat, that’s what email chains are for. What is this about?”

“You and her had something going on before she died. You took a liking to her pretty quickly.” He finished off the appetizers in time to hand the empty tray off to the waitress before she left. “Really, I just wanted to thank you for the kind of support you gave her… she was my best friend, even if she wouldn’t admit that.” 

Justin was clearly very distraught, not knowing how to approach the topic. “You did a lot for her… your sponsorship meant the world to her. She wouldn’t have gotten where she did so quickly if it weren’t for you, if you didn’t offer her the support that you did so early on, she probably never would have made it… she would have given up somewhere along the way.”

“I… thank you… I appreciate that a lot, actually…” I bit my lip, swallowing the heavy lump in my throat. “I miss her…”

“I couldn’t believe it at first, there was no way it could have been a suicide… At first I wanted to believe that maybe you did something to her, but I knew from the start…” Justin looked down at his food, the both of us seemingly having lost our appetites. “The moment she got to stand next to you on the biggest stage in the world to her was the happiest moment of her life, but afterwards… she sank.” 

“She what?”

“The only thing on her mind was how guilty she felt about beating you, after everything you did for her… She thought you were upset at her, she felt like she ruined your whole life.”

“No, tell me she didn’t…”

“All I know is that it was the only thing on her mind during those last few weeks. My last moments with her were listening to her cry about how awful she felt about it, she left my house… and she never made it home.”

“So, you think she-”

“I think that was why she did it, yeah… I think that was what… pushed her over the edge.”

My heart sank deeper than it ever had before. “And that’s why you wanted to meet with me?”

“Partially.” Justin produced a small red box with a single blue ribbon and bow holding it together. “But mostly because I wanted to give you this.”

I took the box in my hands, examining it closely, feeling whatever was inside rattle against the container. “Thank you, Justin… But you didn’t need to do this, I don’t need a condolence gift~”

“It’s not from me.” He just shook his head, finally beginning to dig into his dinner. “It’s from Sophia~”

“From… Sophia?” I looked at it in disbelief.  _ Chloe… _

“Even I don’t know what it is, she wrapped it herself too. She knew that your birthday was in early May, so she decided to get you something, a combination of a birthday present, as well as a way to say… sorry.” 

I stared at the late birthday present, tapping on the side of the box and wondering whether or not I should open it right then and there.  _ No… not here. I’ll open it in front of her… I just have to find her… _

“Thank you, Justin. I-” I was choking, very nearly being pushed over the verge of tears. “I think I need to go…”

“Thank you for coming out here to see me.” 

↞✶↠

There was a silence between us, an understanding, as I quickly made my way out of the restaurant and into the passenger seat of my rental car, unable to keep myself from sobbing over the small box in my lap.

“Hey kiddo, what happened?” I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was a man’s voice. Not Malcolm or even my father, but my brother, Cyrus. “Something go wrong? Do I need to put a watchout on him?”

I shook my head, wanting to bury my face in my brother’s chest and cry, but wanting more to show him that I was tough, and that I could handle myself. Cyrus however, was having none of that, and a moment later I felt him putting his arm around me and pulling me into his chest. I couldn’t keep my act up for long anyways, so I relented, and I sobbed. “This is all my fault…”

“Calm down, kiddo. Baby steps remember?” He held me at arm’s length, settling back into the driver’s seat. “What happened?”

I just held out the small gift box to him so that he could see it. “I- it’s from Chloe…”

He frowned, gently pushing the box to my chest. “It’s going to be okay. I’m going to make sure that it’s okay.”

I could never ever tell what kind of things were going on in my brother’s head, I just knew that on our way back home to the hotel, there was a look of determination in his eyes, fiercer than I had ever seen it before. 

“What do I do now, brother?” I wiped away the last of my tears, pulling myself back together. 

“Well first you have to come to your senses, and figure out where to go from here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Move on, Candace.” He frowned, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove. “Look, I’ve been talking to Claudia… and I had an idea.” 

My face morphed into a scowl at the idea of moving on. “And what’s that?”

“I think you should find another girl, sis.” We slowly pulled into the parking stall. “Claudia is having a party, and I think you should go… with another woman.”

My heart ached at just the thought of it. “Who?”

“The who is up to you, Candace… get out there and meet someone new, or maybe bring Tallie?”

“Tallie and I aren’t like that, Griffin.”

“Then just go to the party with Tallie, or with another girl, maybe a friend?”

I slammed the car door shut, still clutching the box to my chest. “What good will that do for me, brother?”

“If you can’t find a date before the party, then bring a friend, maybe Aria?” He pressed the button on his key fob, locking the car doors. “That way you’re not going alone… and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find a girl there and hit it off?”

“I don’t want to hit it off with another girl. I’m not over Chloe.”

“That’s why we need to get you out there to find someone new… you’re not going to find anyone at the facility you like, trust me. It’ll only make things worse.”

“Our sister doesn’t even talk to me Cyrus, she wouldn’t invite me in the first place.”

“Oh, on the contrary, little one~” Cyrus stopped just outside of the front door to the hotel, holding out a handwritten letter, my second surprise gift of the day. “You’ll have to forgive her, she prefers handwritten correspondence, delivered directly through family~”

I took it from him, reading it to myself all the way through the lobby and up to the room we were staying in. 

_ Dearest sister,  _ _  
_ _ I hope this correspondence finds you well.  _ _  
_ _ Sixteenth of November, at my home, I have an important family announcement to make, and I hope that you will be there for it. _ _  
_ _ You may consider this your invitation to my next party. It is a plus one event, and I should hope that you don’t find yourself in attendance alone. _ _  
_ _ Our brother tells me that you’ve been going through something rather difficult, and I want to be there to offer you my support. I look forward to being able to speak with you again. _ _  
_ _ I would like to offer you my sincerest apologies for what occurred between us when last we spoke, as well as to offer my hand to you in hopes of reconciling our relationship.  _ _  
_ _ And Candace,  _ _  
_ _ Regardless of who your mother was, I would like for you to know that I am unendingly proud to be able to call you my sister.  _ _  
_ _ I know it can’t at all be easy to forgive me, knowing what I did, but I’m sorry about your mother.  _ _  
_ _ I hope you understand that it truly was the only thing that could have been done, and if there was any other way, it never would have happened.  _ _  
_ _ I love you, Candace. _

_  
_ _ Your sister, through thick and thin, _ _  
_ _ Claudia Rosegold Mariam _ _  
_ _  
_ _ P.S. I am having just the greatest time imagining the look on your face reading a proper handwritten correspondence for what is presumably the first time in your life, and I really wish I was there to see it, if you can, please have our brother take a picture of it for me. Bless his soul, he’ll text it to me, I’m sure~ _

  
  


“A party, really? Look Cyrus, I get what she’s trying to do here, but-” I bit my lip, quickly getting angry at the sight of him taking a picture of me, just as the letter had asked him to do. 

“And, sent~” He smirked at me, stopping outside of the door to our hotel room.

“I… why couldn’t she have just texted me?!” I huffed angrily, pouting as he opened the door. “Why do you two always have to make things difficult for me?”

“Because you’re our little sister and we like bullying you~”

“This is a bit beyond bullying now, Cyrus.” I closed the hotel room door behind me as I followed him inside. “Is  **this** why you came all the way out here with me, just to give me this letter? Really?”

“I’ve found her a buyer, Candace.” 

I froze, my heart turning to stone at the thought of it. “…Already?”

“Yeah…” Cyrus sat down on the edge of the bed at the far end of the room, sighing to myself. “She was ready for the sale floor on day one.”

“I’m not ready for that, Cyrus.” I bit my lip, swallowing my rage in an attempt to stay calm. “Can’t you just keep her safe for me?”

“She’s not there to be babysat, sis. She’s there to be sold.” Cyrus sighed, beginning to unpack his things for the night. “And I think I’ve found the right buyer for her.”

“Who is it? Please-” 

“Candace, no.” He stopped me in my tracks, standing up and physically having to shove me backwards to keep me from fighting him. “If I told you where she was going, you would do something stupid and very likely get yourself in serious trouble.”

He was right. I really did just want to know, but he was right, I could very well end up doing something stupid if I knew who Chloe was going to end up with. 

“I’ve done my best, I promise. I hope that for your sake, where she’s going is safe… with someone who won’t hurt, kill, or mistreat her… at least not too harshly.” Cyrus sat back down on the edge of the bed, and I found myself climbing in with him, falling into his arms for a hug. “If this goes through, she’ll be working as a maid… which means hopefully she won’t end up as a sex slave.”

At least I did one thing right, training Chloe as a maid means that she’s already prepared to serve as someone’s maid, which will hopefully keep her safe. “Why come all the way out here to tell me?”

“I wanted to make sure that you were already on your way… you have a long trip ahead of you, and there’s no turning back now… you’re going to be hosting the world championship.” Cyrus smiled at me, gesturing towards the rest of the hotel room and sighing to himself. “And maybe I needed to make sure that  **_I_ ** didn’t doing something stupid either.” 

“Are you really leaving after this, brother?” I pulled away, giving him a reluctant but thankful smile. 

“I can’t leave Liz alone for very long… I just needed to make sure my little sister was going to be okay.”

“Thank you, Cyrus… I’m going to be okay, I promise.” 

“You’d better…” He took a quick glance out of the window, cursing himself out under his breath. “I’m doing you both a favor here… so you two had better not fuck this up…”

“I’ll try my best, don’t worry.”

↞✶↠

I made my way into the second of the two connected sleeping spaces in our hotel room, closing the door between mine and my brother’s rooms. Tomorrow, we will both be taking separate flights out of San Francisco. Cyrus will be heading back home, and I will be heading to my next stop, Seattle. God, I was not at all looking forward to Seattle. 

The shower connected to my room was running. Of course, I knew that half of the reason Cyrus came here in the first place was to make sure that Aria stayed in line, and to report back to my father if something weird happened with her, and something weird usually always happened with her. 

“Oh thank fuck, you’re back.” Aria had been throwing up, which was clearly why she was taking a shower in the first place. “Your brother’s bodyguards are fucking psycho.”

“We can’t just roam free, Aria. I-” I stopped in my tracks, my eyes landing on Aria's neck. “What the fuck is that?”

“Oh, this you mean?! Yeah, Cyrus did it himself!!” Aria was more distraught than I had ever seen her, gesturing to the metal device clamped around her throat. “Your brother thought it was  **appropriate** !!” 

I was speechless. I knew that they didn’t trust her at all, but I didn’t think that forcing her into a collar was appropriate in the slightest. 

“I know that I’m like… some sort of substitute servant or some shit, but I am  **not** a slave, Candace.” Aria was struggling not to gag at just the thought of it. “I  **can’t** get it off!! please make your brother unlock it, I’m  **begging** you…” 

“It wouldn’t help, he wouldn’t do it even if I asked him to.” I sighed, sitting down in bed and shaking my head at her. “Besides, knowing him, he probably left the keys at home.”

“So what?! I’m just supposed to keep it on?!” She scoffed angrily, biting her lip as she tried to physically pry it off of herself. 

I froze in place, looking her up and down. The thought had never once crossed my mind until now, but now that it had, I wasn’t sure that I could stop myself. “Get on the bed, Aria~”

Her heavily concealer riddled cheeks lit up at the sound of that, blushing as she stammered. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that there’s only one bed in this room, so if you would like to sleep in it, I would suggest that you do as I say, and lay down~” I sat at the foot of the bed, smirking at her, just waiting for the look on her face when she folds under my will. 

“Don’t make this weird, Candace…”

“You know the kind of power I wield, Fairmont. I’ll make this whatever I want.” 

Was this a bad idea… possibly. But I fucking deserve to have just a little bit of fun after the week I’ve had. At this point there was nothing Aria could do to change my mind, and I could tell that deep down she didn’t really want to. 

Aria wanted this, even more than I did… and right now I couldn’t help myself, I was going to give it to her.

She was nervous and timid, something that I couldn’t usually describe her as, but in the face of a Goddess, it was more than warranted. Especially knowing that this goddess was the kind that could kill you. She climbed into bed, sitting up and looking over at me, her hands still wrapped around her collar, now mostly for comfort rather than in an attempt to remove it. 

“I’m not your slave, Candace.”

“But you could be.” I smirked, licking my lips as I got a good mental picture of her still naked body, fresh out of the shower, only just finished getting dried off. 

“I- I don’t want to be…” Again with that weirdness she has about her, I couldn’t tell whether she was lying or not, but it didn’t really matter. 

“I don’t care what  **you** want Aria, I get what I want, remember?” 

“But-”

“I seem to recall you insisting that I wouldn’t need to  **force** you to do anything~” I slowly inched towards her, prowling like a lion. “Unless somehow I’m mistaken?”

“I know what I said, but I’m not…” She stammered nervously, clearly feeling quite bad about how much she wanted this, a look that I had seen in Chloe’s eyes many many times. “Y’know… spayed.”

“We can take care of that later then,  _ kitten~ _ ” I purred eagerly at her, and she did the same, eagerly receptive to the title she’d just been given. “Mama cat will stay away from your little jungle… for now~”

“ **This** kitten doesn’t want to be spayed… Candace.” She bit her lip, cooing under her breath, trying not to look desperate for me. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you my slave unless I’m  **forced** to~” I really was just toying with her, I had no intention on replacing Chloe anytime soon, but a fuckdoll was most definitely going to be necessary at times if I was going to get over that cute stupid little redhead. 

“A-are there safewords?” She slowly slid backwards, letting herself be cornered. 

“ **Safewords??** What, do you expect  **Mercy??** ” I scoffed, giggling at the absurdity of it under my breath as I closed in on her. “I said I wouldn’t make you my slave… I didn’t say that I was going to give you a  **choice.** ”

She was blushing, quiet whimpers escaping her untrained lips as she stared up at me, now on her back beneath me. “Y-yes… Miss?”

“On all fours, kitten.” I growled at her, intimidating her into quickly doing as I said, rolling onto her belly and getting onto her hands and knees in front of me. “I’ll try not to go somewhere I’m not supposed to~”

I sat up, slowly removing the outfit I had worn to my little dinner date, stripping myself as nude as Aria was. She was no Chloe, but she would do.

She was already quite wet. She had been craving this, I could tell. But I couldn’t get ahead of myself, her little quim was off limits to me tonight. Of course, that limitation was of my own design, and not hers, if I wanted to ram my hard cock up her slit right here and now there was nothing she could do to stop me. I just didn’t want to cause an unplanned pregnancy, like I almost had with Chloe… 

Very little came from accidental pregnancies, and I didn’t at all consider myself an exception to that. 

I wasn’t just an accident, I was a  **mistake** .

From the very beginning, my existence had been unplanned. I was always the black sheep of what should have been a perfectly nuclear family. I had grown up as an undue burden onto my family, the product of a mistake that my siblings surely wished my father had never made. 

It would have been easier to get over her if she was just a toy, I wanted to just see Chloe as a slave, as an object and not a person. But how could I reduce her to that in my mind when I knew that my mother was no different. Before she was my father’s wife, she was his slave. 

She was his maid. I tried so hard not to become my father, yet somehow I had gotten so scarily close. 

What if I had done what my father did? What if I had accidentally gotten my maid pregnant? How could I live knowing that I had accidentally created an abomination that was just like me?

How could I possibly live if she ended up being put down like my mother had?!

I growled angrily under my breath, hearing Aria let out a gasp as I shoved my fingers up her quivering little cunt, before quickly pulling them out and forcing them into her anus, lubricating her with the liquids from her wet cunt. 

_ Good enough for me.  _ I looked down at my hand after I pulled them out, making sure that they were mostly clean before reaching over and holding them out in front of Aria’s open mouth. “Suck them clean.”

“I… Wh… Eww!!” She shook her head, trying to turn to face me in protest. But before she had the chance to, she squealed loudly, feeling my other hand grab ahold of her dopey little french braid, yanking her head and forcing her gaze straight ahead.

“ **I said suck them clean!!!** ” 

The next words out of Aria’s mouth was a muffled whimper of submission before I forced my wet fingers into her mouth, forcing her to suck off whatever they’d gotten soaked in from her own ass and vagina, helplessly sucking my fingers clean. 

I ripped my hand away from Aria’s mouth as soon as I was satisfied, and not a moment sooner, putting both of my hands on her hips and digging my feline claws into the pathetic little kitten’s skin as I gripped a hold of her. 

I had a lot of bottled up anger that I needed to get out. Not just anger towards her, but towards Chloe, towards myself, towards my brother, towards my father, towards my sister, towards my entire  **fucking** family, but especially towards my  **fucking** sister. 

Aria just happened to be the closest living thing that I could ragdoll with my cock. I slid my cock up her vagina just once, watching her squeak desperately as I pulled it out, before slamming myself up her ass. 

She squeaked happily, purring at me as she arched her back, letting her small cute little ass perk up, making it easier for me to slide myself in and out, mercilessly fucking her tight stupid little anus just to pleasure myself.

She was gorgeous, she was submissive, she was eager. 

She was fine, but she wasn’t Chloe. She was too easy, I found myself craving the challenge I usually received trying to make my archrival into my bitch, but there just wasn’t that spark of resilience in my best friend like there was in my now  **former** slave. 

But it still felt damn good to fuck a tiny pitiful inferior woman in the ass, and I relished hearing her pained sobs as I pushed her harder than she was willing or able to go, spraying my hot semen into her puckered little asshole in the matter of minutes, but not before making her scream at the top of her lungs. 

“You’ll sleep on the floor.” I rolled her over and shoved her onto the floor once I was finished with her, finally giving her a moment to breathe and recover once I had rode out my orgasm in her tight little anus. 

“Y-yes, Ma’am…” There was no arguing from her, just desperate moaning as her hands instantly darted between her legs so that she could finger herself to orgasm. She didn’t ask for permission to orgasm, but she wasn’t technically my slave, and I didn’t care to stop her. I was just glad she ended up enjoying it in the end. 

↞✶↠

I couldn’t sleep, even after pumping my cum into Aria’s ass and tiring myself out, all I could think of was how badly I wished it was Chloe getting fucked in the ass instead. I regretted only ever having sex with Chloe the one time, at least while she was conscious. 

Cyrus clearly couldn’t sleep either, he was standing out on the deck of the hotel room, looking out at the stars. 

“The sale went through… it’s final now.”

He could hear me approaching long before I actually got there, stopping himself from taking another hit just long enough to get out what he needed to say before continuing to smoke. “You don’t sound too happy about that.”

“Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t too happy about that.” He held it in for a good few seconds before releasing it. “I was actually rooting for you too, you know… though I am glad you’re having a little bit of fun with scampers in there.”

“Fair enough, I appreciate that…” I stepped onto the porch, barely managing to conceal my genitals behind my robe. Cyrus had of course seen it before, including in his wife’s mouth, so it wasn’t really a big deal. “You don’t usually smoke, what’s up… something wrong with the sale?”

“Nothing’s wrong with the sale, we’ve got the money already… it’s just not to who I expected it to.”

“Is that bad? Is something wrong? Is she going to be okay?”

“Calm down, it’s  **fine** . Her buyer has been vetted too.” He sighed, shaking his head and holding the blunt out to me.

“What’s this?” I took it from him, pinching it between my fingers and holding it out in front of my face. 

“Our dearest big sister’s new project…” He blew smoke out of his mouth. “Her own recipe~”

“What, so she’s  **making** drugs now, and not just peddling them?” I brought it to my mouth, taking in a sharp inhale and holding it in for a good fifteen seconds or so before exhaling. “Who does she think she is?”

“A future godfather.” My brother chuckled, reaching out and snipping it away from my hands so that he could get back at it, taking another hit before continuing. “And to be fair… she kind of is~”

“Don’t think you’ll try to snipe that title away from her someday?”

“Do I look like I  **want** to?” He scoffed at just the idea of it. “But if you want to try and pull something like that, by all means, go right ahead~”

“I might just fucking have to.” I groaned, holding my hand out towards him before taking another hit.

“You’re really still upset with her, huh?”

“Of course I’m still upset, Cyrus. It’s not really something that can be reversed.”

“I know but she  **is** your sister.”

“She’s my  **half** -sister.”

“Just like I’m your  **half** -brother, what’s your point?”

“She hasn’t spoken with me in years, Griffin…” I sighed, shaking my head and returning it to hum. “She really thinks I was a mistake.”

“So what if you were a mistake, you’re here now.” He chuckled under his breath, tossing the blunt over the side of the balcony into the grass below. “I love you, don’t I?”

“I don’t know, do you.”

“Of course I do, you moron. Why else would I be so insistent on finding your girl a good home?”

“I love you too, brother… and I appreciate that immensely.” I squeaked, stepping back into the hotel room as soon as I realized that anyone below the deck would have a clear shot at seeing what’s hidden behind my robes. “I just don’t think Claudia feels the same way about me.”

“You did read that letter, didn’t you?” He stepped in after me, closing the door behind himself. “She’s trying to fix things with you.”

“Maybe she is and maybe she isn’t but… I don’t want to go to her party.”

Cyrus stopped, sighing under his breath and averting his eyes from me as he walked back over to his bed. “Maybe that’s for the best, then…”

“Anyways…” I mumbled to myself, remembering why I came in here in the first place. “The keys to Aria’s collar?”

“I slipped ‘em in your suitcase already~” He shot me an evil grin and winked. “You’re welcome~”

“Are you really flying back tomorrow, already?”

“Now that the sale is final, there’s no real reason for me to stay away… besides, I left Liz  **at** the facility, and I’m not very keen on keeping her there alone, especially while  _ Colton  _ is on the loose.”

“Why did you even hire that maniac, brother?”

“Uhh,  **because** she’s a maniac, duh.”

“You’re going to get yourself stabbed with a death needle one of these days, you know.”

“ **Or** a needle filled with ecstasy~”

“Eugh…” I rolled my eyes, grinning at his stupidity. “Goodnight, big brother.”

He blew me a kiss goodnight just as I walked through the door into my room. “Goodnight, little sis~” 

I quietly closed the door behind me, trying not to wake the still naked, now sleeping Aria. Yeah, there was going to be no getting her into the bed without waking her up, might as well stick to my guns and let her sleep on the floor tonight. 

Besides, I deserve the whole bed to myself anyways. 

I nestled into bed, curling myself up in the blankets in an attempt to make myself comfortable. The letter I’d gotten hand delivered by my brother was still sitting on the table beside my bed. 

I picked up my phone, punching in the number and dialing. Eh, so what if I accidentally woke Aria up, I needed to talk to her.

“Hey, Claudia, this is Candace… can we talk?” 


	20. Brand New Master

I murmured excitedly through my lips as she brought hers to them, sweeping me away into another kiss. There it was, the passion that I wanted to feel. 

This is okay, right… if just this once I let myself go? If heaven forbid, just this once I let myself have fun for a change? 

I haven’t had a single enjoyable moment since I left Candace’s side, so you’ll have to excuse me if I give myself a break and just fool around for a little bit. If I give myself just this moment of pleasure before I’m forced to leave this miserable facility and find myself permanently bound to my new master’s side. 

I’m never going to see her again, so what’s wrong with having a little one night stand with Elizabeth Griffin~? 

But where exactly to start with this woman I wasn’t really sure, because Liz was an oddity among oddities. 

The self proclaimed ‘Queen of the Slaves’ had it a lot better than her lesser counterparts, and why shouldn’t she have, she had the exclusive privilege to serve as the better half of the whole operation’s head honcho. 

Her husband Cyrus was rich, not quite ‘private plane from island to island’ rich, but still quite a bit wealthier than even his henchmen were, and as a result, his wife was spoiled. At least as long as she was behaved, she got spoiled. If she wasn’t, she was in for a tougher time than most other slaves in the system likely were, or maybe not… from the sounds of it, the facility’s normal clientele were some pretty degenerate people. 

Yet unlike those other far less important slaves, Liz had fully embraced her life, and she rocked it. 

But at times that meant that she was just as much of an arrogant jackass as her husband was. 

There was probably no way for me to be able to outdo Elizabeth when it came to stamina, but she was the one initiating, so I let her make the first move. 

Here I went accusing Liz of being the oddball, while I meanwhile was treating sex like a game, but that was nothing new. I had always treated sex like a game, and it was a game that I was always hungry to win. I may have had a good dose of submission drilled into my head, but I still had some fight in me. 

I felt her press the skin of her knee into me, trying to squeeze the juices out of me like a fruit, my hungry slit beginning to spill onto her as she crushed my quim under her weight. 

She snarled at me, licking her lips as she pulled away. Liz thought of herself as the alpha beast here, and as far as either of us were concerned, she was. 

I whined under my breath, my cheeks glowing with embarrassment as I bucked my hips, rubbing my labia against her thigh. My wrists were pinned under the weight of her arms, leaving me right where she wanted me to be, on the bottom. Even worse, I was unable to rip myself free from underneath the stronger woman. She wasn’t Candace by any means, but she was definitely stronger than me. 

I chased her sweet plump lips upwards as she pulled away, shoving my tongue into her mouth and wrangling her back down to the bed with me, not so gently nibbling on her lips as we made out. We kept kissing until neither of us could breathe, but even as she tried to pull away again, I wouldn’t let her, biting down on her stupidly soft lip and holding her face captive as I continued to desperately hump her leg. 

She let go of my left wrist and pushed herself away, slipping out of my grasp and growling at me, trying to reassert her dominance. With my hand now free, I could have taken the chance to fully push her off of me, try to flip her over and put myself on top, but instead I curled my fingers in her gorgeously painted mint green hair and pulled her head back down, once again holding her hostage in my kiss. 

Elizabeth clearly wasn’t expecting this level of fight from me, but I was a lot feistier than I had been when she first met me, and she was loving it. But honestly, who in her right mind wouldn’t love this?

Liz was a prostitute, she clearly had experience with women, but she was dealing with a full blown lesbian, and a hungry one at that.

She pushed away again, snarling at me loud and clear. 

Among the many things odd about Liz, one such thing were the modifications made to her body. It was a weird thing to see, but Liz had these weird ring piercings on either side of her labia. They were like loops for strings to go through, she had them for the express purpose of her master being able to control her, and they were currently cinched closed. 

My quim was the only one exposed and ready to be toyed with, and Liz knew that. She was doing this to pleasure me, and not herself, and that was something which I appreciated immensely.

This was my last chance to have sex with someone I was even vaguely familiar with before being shipped off to whoever ended up buying me, and I was not letting this opportunity pass me up. 

Liz was clearly having fun toying with me, pulling her leg away from me as soon as I tried to rub my clit against it. 

“Jerk…” I grimaced, taking one hand and reaching between my legs, getting ready to finger myself. “If you’re not going to let me touch, then back off~!!”

Liz snickered at me, which I responded to by growling. She was a stronger woman than me though, so before I could reach between my legs, she had once again caught me by the wrist, stopping me from pleasuring myself. “Don’t like being edged, puppy?”

“Not by you.” I scoffed at her, biting the inside of my cheek, desperate to touch something. 

Liz had me pinned down by both wrists again, but my legs were free. I pulled my knees up to me, sliding my legs between her torso and mine, finding a foothold and shoving her off of me with the full force of both of my legs. 

She was strong, but I was clever. She was holding me with her arms, but even with her superior strength, she couldn’t bear the force of my legs as I pried her off of me. She was fun, but she wasn’t as much of a challenge as Candace. Candace was a fun opponent on both a physical and an intellectual level. 

I giggled, hearing Liz squeak angrily as I pushed her off of me. Apparently I was a lot stronger than I remembered, because I sent her tumbling off of the bed and onto the floor as well, or perhaps maybe she just lost balance because of her fat tits and huge ass. 

_Right. My turn then…_

I pounced, leaping off of the bed and on top of her on the floor before she had the chance to get up off of her back. _She who hesitates is lost, after all._

This wasn’t it. This wasn’t the challenge that I needed and deserved. Sure, she was a physical obstacle to overcome, but she wasn’t as strong as Candace, and with the right leverage I could easily pin Candace down, just like I was doing with Liz now, listening to her snarl at me from below. 

I needed someone who could break me down and shove me onto the floor with ease, someone who could break through my shell and put me back in my place, and unfortunately, Liz was not that someone. 

Sure, she was a physical challenge, but everyone was a physical challenge to me, not because I was weak, but because I was honestly kind of small. But she was no mental challenge, not like Candace was. 

I needed someone to give me that challenge on both fronts, I needed Candace.

Or at the very least, I needed someone like Candace. 

The best case scenario for me now would be to end up in the hands of someone like Candace or Cyrus. The two siblings were remarkably similar in many ways, and I chalked that up to them being raised together. They both were naturals at this, dominant to the core, and I needed something like that. But there was no one left in the world who could even come close to either of those two. 

Finally, despite Liz’s best efforts to edge me all night, I ended up finishing myself off, fingering myself on top of her. 

“Who’s the omega now?”

“Uhh, still you, believe it or not~” Liz snickered, climbing into the bed next to me. “Hope you had fun, though~”

“I did…” I hated to admit it, but I did, even if she wasn’t as much of a challenge as I would have wished. “Thank you, Liz…”

“Don’t mention it, shortstack~” Liz sighed, laying down on her back, relaxing into bed. 

We laid there in an awkward silence for a little while afterwards. But that’s kind of how one night stands always go. We both know that we’ll never see each other again after this, but neither of us really have the luxury of being able to leave, being fellow prisoners here. 

So we just kind of let the silence speak for itself, neither of us having anything to say to each other. But while I would have liked to take my leave just to ease the awkward silence, I honestly would prefer to spend the night in bed with Liz rather than sleeping in a cell by myself.

Unless that cell happened to be the one attached to Candace’s bedroom… 

“I fucked up, Liz…” 

It was too much for me, I couldn’t get her off of my mind. I had no moral qualms with the decision that I made that night, but I more than regretted failing my former master. All I wanted now was to be at her side. “Is there really no way that Cyrus can send me back to her?”

Liz sighed under her breath, no longer angry, just sad. “I’ve already tried, Chloe.”

“Surely you can reason with him, if he cares so much, I know he’ll listen if-”

“Do you **really** want to be with her?” Liz sat up, her large tits bouncing against her chest. 

“More than anything…” I nodded to her, frowning. “Really…”

Liz didn’t want to see me go any more than I did. But she was so fiercely loyal to her master that it had become difficult for her to argue with him anymore. Cyrus had such total control of her that she had become his puppet, a vessel for his will, even if she did have that cute clever spark in her. Her puppet master was in total control of her, and there was nothing she could do that could change his mind once he had decided on something. I knew that just as well as she did, but she was my last chance. 

“I can try…”

My eyes lit up as soon as I heard her say that, my heart nearly thumping out of my chest at the idea of getting to see my owner again. I didn’t want to belong to someone else, I wanted to belong to Candace. Both Elizabeth and her husband could see how much the two of us loved each other, how much we **needed** each other, if there was anyone at all in the world who could get us back together, it was Cyrus Griffin. “I’ll do anything, I really will.”

“I’d do anything for my Master, too…” Liz chuckled under her breath just a little, giving me a small smirk. “Just don’t get your dumb little hopes up, I don’t want to see your tiny stupid heart break again, it was depressing enough the first time.”

“Thank you, Liz. I promise… Anything you can manage to do now is mercy.” I couldn’t stop myself from leaning over and wrapping my arms around her shoulders, hugging her as tightly as I possibly could, which she clearly appreciated, just not as much as she appreciated another kiss on the lips. 

Cyrus was the only person in the world who could get Candace and I back together at this point, and Liz was probably the only person in the world who could convince him to do so. 

But if it sounded too good to be true, that’s because it was.

↞✶↠ 

I must have fallen asleep in her arms, it was the only way I was going to possibly be able to fall asleep. But before we could wake up naturally, someone else came to do it for us.

“Rise and shine dolls, it’s time to wake up.” It was Jane Colton, the nice woman from the front desk, which I found odd… Why wasn’t she still up at the front desk?

And she wasn’t alone, that man with the scars, Phil Burke, he was with her. Not only that, but so was Dr. Rebecca Larkin and Anthony Schmitt.

_P. Burke, J. Colton, R. Larkin, and A. Schmitt._

Those were the names I read on all of those offices on the first floor, they were all here, save for one man.

 _C. Griffin._ The one man I really needed right now was nowhere to be seen. His wife, Elizabeth, was here in bed with me, but Cyrus was missing. The one man who could get me out of this was missing in action. 

“Where’s Master?” I wasn’t the only one who noticed that he was absent from his little group of workers, Cyrus’ wife was just as unhappy that he wasn’t here. 

“On a plane back from San Francisco.” Phil, Cyrus’ right hand, was the one who stepped into the room first.

 _San Francisco? Why was he there?_ My fingers were trembling. I was from San Francisco, and there was absolutely no way that it was a coincidence for him to be there, not after everything that went down between me and his sister. It didn’t make sense for him to be there, especially not alone, so if he’s in San Francisco that must also mean that… _Why the fuck is she in San Francisco?_

“Why isn’t he here, Phil?” Liz growled at the scarred man as he approached me, trying to protect me from him. “I need to talk to him.”

“He’ll be home within the day, Mrs. Griffin, don’t you worry.” The man with the scars kept quiet, but the other man, Anthony, spoke up instead. “He’s coming straight here to pick you up.”

“But I need to talk to him now.” Liz snarled, hell bent on having a word with Cyrus before letting anyone near me. 

“He can’t talk right now, he’s on a plane. Airplane mode exists for a reason.” Nurse Schmitt, Malcolm’s future husband, continued. He was clearly just a little bit distraught judging by the look on his face, a look that I had seen on him when he first came into my cell to do a mental evaluation. “Look, we don’t really want to do this any more than you do, but we have no choice.”

 _Oh no…_ I suddenly realized what it was that they were here to do, and I didn’t like it one bit. 

“Behave, little dolls.” Jane snickered, pulling a syringe out of her pocket and haphazardly spinning it around. “Little Miss Colton wouldn’t want to have to give you your shots early, Lizzie dear~”

Liz seemed to be taken aback with fear at the seeming threat coming from Jane, as the latter stepped into the room. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on me.”

“I wouldn’t do so without your husband’s permission, don’t you trust me?” Jane snickered, holding the needle out towards us as she stepped inside, followed in by the doctor. “Besides, we’re not here for you… we’re here for _her~_ ”

Of course they were here for me, I knew it from the moment they walked inside. “Where are you taking me?”

“To the operating room.” Rebecca stepped inside, gesturing for Phil and Jane to secure me. “We have a small cosmetic operation to get done before your new master takes you home.”

“And how long will that take?” I swallowed nervously, pulling myself away from Liz and moving towards the doctor.

“An otoplasty will only take a couple of hours.” Rebecca tapped her feet impatiently, not even looking up as Phil grabbed a hold of me. “Granted… we only have a few hours.”

“A few hours until what, Ma’am?” I didn’t like where this was going. It can’t be happening already, it was too soon. 

“Until your new master takes you home, like I said.” She looked up from her notes just long enough to glare directly into my eyes. “Now stop wasting my time, I don’t have very long.”

“Can I please talk with Cyrus before I go, Ma’am?” Phil grabbed me by both arms, restraining them together behind my back.

“Perhaps you don’t understand, Miss Cavalier.” Rebecca snarled at me, getting angry for the first time since I’d met her. “The reason that Mr. Griffin isn’t here, is to prevent you from pleading for his forgiveness… and since that seems to be the only reason that you wish to speak with him, the answer is a resounding no.”

“But I need to-”

“No buts.” Rebecca shut me down, turning her glare onto Jane. “Ms. Colton, if you will?”

“No, wait…” Liz was snarling angrily, just barely being kept at bay my Anthony’s insistence that this was what her master wanted. 

Before anyone responded to her however, I felt a needle pierce its way into my skin as Jane delivered some sort of injection. 

And then everything went black.

↞✶↠ 

I woke up on an operating table, presumably after my surgery was done. There was a ringing in my ears, and an intense pain in my shoulder as I slowly came to, the lights threatening to blind my waking eyes. 

“Where… what…” I winced in pain, a sudden terrible stinging in the skin of my ears. I tried reaching out to touch them, but my wrists were shackled to the operating table where I sat. “What did you do to me?”

“An otoplasty is an ear surgery.” It was Anthony again, having been the one left to watch over me. “A cosmetic ear surgery, nothing too terrible, it only took about an hour.”

“Cosmetic… why?” I winced, still trying to slip my hands free from the shackles. “What kind of cosmetic?”

“Your new master has… a very specific thing that they like from their slaves…” Anthony smiled, pulling out a mirror for me to look at my reflection. “Take a look see.”

I gasped, my eyes going wide with shocked horror. My outer ears were covered in bandages, but it was clear to see what had happened to them. “They’re… pointed?”

“Like an elf!!” Anthony chuckled for a couple seconds, before quickly stopping as he saw my visible discomfort. “Sorry… Malcolm and I are both big d&d fans…”

“Great… Because that’s exactly what I want… to fulfill some sicko’s dumb fantasy elf fetish.” I scoffed angrily, once again unable to refrain from speaking my thoughts. “Oh, god damn it… it’s this fucking drug again.”

“I would suggest trying to settle down before you see your new owner, hon.” He tried to calm me down, but I was having none of it. 

“Why should I care what they think of me?” I gritted my teeth, shaking my head angrily. “I don’t think very much of them…”

“You don’t even know who they are, Chloe.”

“Yeah, and I don’t really care.” I couldn’t even look him in the eyes, I was too upset. “They aren’t Candace, so I already know I don’t want to be with them.”

Anthony groaned, clearly not wanting to get stern with me. “You had your chance with Candace.” 

“Yeah, and I fucked it all up, whatever…” I wouldn’t usually be like this, but they used the same anesthetic as they had when I had my first surgery. “I would prefer you kill me than give me away to someone that isn’t her.”

“I’m sure you do, and I’m sure you love her a lot… but if you wanted that you should have mentioned it sooner, we could have pulled something, and she would have been none the wiser.” Anthony frowned, waiting for me to settle down before he began to undo my restraints. “But more importantly, I don’t think that’s what Candace wants, is it?”

“No. She doesn’t. It kind of pisses me off. I wish she was at least man enough to get possessive…” I sighed, cooperating with him as he released my wrists from the operating table. Being a trans girl, Candace would hate hearing the phrase _man enough_ when it came to describing her, and I knew that, I just couldn’t stop it from coming out of my mouth. “It would be almost romantic if she had me killed so that no one else could have me. **That** I could get behind.”

“Well then I guess you’ll just have to get behind whatever your new master wants for you.” Anthony smiled, helping me off of the table and out of the room, covering me in a robe. 

But before he was able to cover me in said robe, I got a good look at myself in the mirror, and I almost shrieked as I saw my lower back.

Liz had succeeded in burning over one of my brands, Candace’s initials were nowhere to be seen. But she had only burned off that one brand, and Candace had given me two. Right there where it had been for months was that demented nautilus shell, the symbol of the zerg right there on my body, just like a tramp stamp. “You’ve got to me kidding me…”

“We don’t really have time to take care of that, I’m afraid. Besides, your new owner is at least a bit of a nerd, clearly. I’m sure they won’t really mind it.” 

“Why even turn me into an elf… Do they really want to dehumanize me that badly?”

“It would appear so… Look, it’s important for some master’s to give their slaves visual reminders that they are no longer human.”

“I guess so…” I sighed angrily, murmuring to myself under my breath. I wasn’t ready for this just yet. “Who is my new master yet, anyways?”

“Completely confidential, I’m afraid…” That wasn’t at all an answer that I appreciated. “Not even I know for sure.”

“Eugh, why do you people have to be so difficult?”

“We’re not difficult… we’re just doing our job.”

Anthony led me directly to the offices up front, stopping at one that was labelled _R. Hastings._ “This is where I’ve got to say goodbye, I’m afraid… but I want you to know that Malcolm and I are both going to be thinking about you.”

That was such a sweet thought. I missed Malcolm, maybe not as much as I missed Candace, but I definitely missed him. “Thank you, Anthony… I hope the wedding is as wonderful as you both…”

I sighed with despair, watching him smile and walk away after giving me a hug goodbye. Then I was just left with the people inside of this office, which included a woman who I had yet to meet, the titular Ms. Hastings. “Mrs. Griffin would like to say her goodbyes before you’re handed off, Ms. Cavalier.”

“It’s okay, Rachel.” Liz exited out of the room as soon as she realized I was outside of the door, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a gentle hug goodbye before I was taken away one final time. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t do anything to help, Chloe…”

“It’s okay, Liz… there wasn’t anything you could do…” I smiled at her, sad but content, trying not to let her see my heart break once more. “I’m gonna be okay, I promise…”

“I’m going to miss your stupid face, Chloe.” She shook her head in disbelief, taking it one step further and giving me a kiss on the lips to say goodbye.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Liz…” I smiled, watching Ms. Hasting lead her back into the office, hanging my head in defeat as Rachel handed me off to Phil and Jane to be taken outside and delivered to my new master. 

↞✶↠ 

I didn’t know who I was expecting, but I was relieved to see who I got. 

It was that woman, the freakishly tall brunette with the cane, standing in the lobby outside, with the pitch black of night outside as a backdrop behind her, and it looked like she was on her phone. 

I couldn’t help but smile as I saw her, and so did she when she got a look at me, deciding to quickly wrap up her phone call so that she could get at me as soon as possible. “Oh. I’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go darling… but it was nice getting to hear from you again… I hope we can talk again soon… I love you… buh bye~”

She smiled eagerly, stepping towards me, and thanks to the drugs running through my head, I couldn’t help but to ask what was on my mind. “Was that your daughter?”

“That was my little sister, actually.” Both Phil and Jane briefly began to panic as I spoke out of line, but the woman’s response quickly put them at ease. “I haven’t heard from her in years… but she’s out on a trip, and she decided to give me a call~”

“That sounds nice.” She didn’t offer any objections, so I just continued to talk. “Where is she now, then?”

The woman whose name I still didn’t know also continued to talk. “Oh, it’s slipping my mind… somewhere in California from the sounds of it.”

“I’m from California.” I smiled at her, relieved that it was her out here and not the man who had raped me the previous day. “San Francisco, to be exact.”

Her greyish blue eyes seemed to light up as she smiled. “I do think she’s in San Francisco now, actually~”

My brain was frazzled, I knew that sounded odd, but I couldn’t remember exactly why. “Are you… the one who bought me?”

“I am indeed~” She grinned, stepping towards me, gesturing the workers behind me to back off. “I just couldn’t let you end up as property of someone who was going to mistreat you.”

“I appreciate it.” I smiled at her, blushing ever so slightly.

“Do go on and show me some respect, young lady.” She scolded me, but she did it light heartedly, keeping in spirit with our exchange of words up to this. “I do own you now, you know. Show me the due respect that I deserve, my darling little maid~”

I missed Candace. I missed Candace a lot, but maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. “Yes, Ma’am. My apologies.”

She giggled eagerly as I bowed for her, showing my respect to her for the first time. “Much better~”

“Thank you, Ma’am…” I swallowed nervously, straightening out my posture to demonstrate my training to her. “I won’t let you down, I promise…”

“You’re one of my belongings now, then…” She smiled at me, stepping past me and towards Jane. “I don’t suppose I have any other belongings to pick up, do I?”

Ms. Colton nodded her head, retrieving the personal items that Leah delivered to her when she came to drop me off here, the bundle of things now packed into a small bag instead of a tray. She stopped for a moment, peeking inside of it and pulling out a single thing. 

A bracelet, but not just any bracelet. The one that controlled my collar. 

“Oh, bloody excellent… so your collar is one of my family’s.” She was bubbling with excitement, slipping the bracelet onto her wrist and turning to face me, smiling at me with genuine delight.

“Y-your family?” I swallowed nervously, not exactly liking where this was going at all. “What about your family, Miss?”

“It’s your collar. My family designed these collars for our slaves, I have three currently strapped to the throats of my girls at home, it’s perfect.” She hummed eagerly, pressing a button on the bracelet and basking in delight at my reaction as she turned it on. “And that means I already know **exactly** how to use it~”

“Y-yes, Ma’am… that… that’s great…” I swallowed nervously, a terrified lump caught in my throat. “Your family… wh-what did you say your name was, if I may be allowed to ask?”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that… my siblings and I all use different last names anyways, which are in turn different from our father’s last name.” She walked up to me, tugging on my collar to make sure it was tight around my neck, and that it wasn’t coming off. Ever. “We don’t have much of a family name for you to be able to recognize anyways…”

“Yes, Ma’am…” My heart twisted inside of my chest as I got ready to pledge my loyalty and obedience to her for the first time. “My name is Chloe, and before I begin to serve as your slave, I would love to know the name of the woman who I belong to… may I ask your name?”

“Of course you may, darling.” She extended one hand, waiting for me to place mine into it and kneel at her feet before continuing. “My name is Claudia Mariam. My colleagues call me Ms. Mariam, and my wife has the distinct honor of getting to call me Claudia, but you, my slave…”

“You are to call me Master.”

  
  



	21. Put into Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What?  
>   
> You didn’t really think these two hopeless lovers were going to flagship this entire story, did you?
> 
> Oh dearie, no. Of course not. Not if I have anything to say about it, and I do.
> 
> Candace is… charming, but she is rather inexperienced at what she is trying to do.
> 
> So let me steal the spotlight away from her for just a minute or two, I promise we’ll get back to her in due time…
> 
> My little sister won’t mind, I’m sure~
> 
> I would personally choose to start the chapter with:
> 
> _I yawned, stretching my body out for just a moment before rolling over to the woman in bed with me. “Oh Josephine, darling~”_
> 
> But that would likely just confuse you, and I’m not stupid enough to think that you all care to read about my wife and I all of a sudden, I’m aware that the two of us are not the the couple that you came here to read about.
> 
> You’re only here to find out how the precious _S.S. Candloe_ somehow saves itself from sinking in the end, foolishly thinking that it ever could.
> 
> So fine, I’ll skip the Josephine section for now. Geez.
> 
> Remind me to get back to that later, because it is important to the story that you’re about to read, but for now let me rewind the clock back to something you would find vaguely relevant to the story you’ve been reading thus far. It’ll make more sense to your feeble submissive brains if I start there anyways, it does at least feature a character that you have met before, if only just the once.
> 
> You will have to excuse my specific style of writing of course, which is more like that of a memo than a novel, it’s what I’m used to, but I will try to be historically accurate.
> 
> As historically accurate as I can be expected to be at least, after all is said and done, I am the winner after all.
> 
> History is written by the victors, which gives me the inalienable right to tell this part of the story whichever way I choose to.
> 
> _Your new favorite character,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_

“You’re dying?”

I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. One second she’s fully recovered from her ailments, and the next second she’s…

“You are kidding, aren’t you?”

“What would I make jokes with you about that, dear?” She coughed, practically hacking up her lungs just sitting there, her lit cigarette in her hand, the last place it probably ought to be. “If I wasn’t serious, I wouldn’t have come out here to see you in person.”

“If your lung cancer is relapsing on you, then maybe you ought to cut it out with the smoking, **mother?** ”

“Oh Claudia, dear… I quit smoking years ago, and look what good it did me then.” She rolled her eyes, pulling the cigarette back to her mouth and inhaling. “I’m as good as dead already, might as well make the most of it.”

“Darcey has asthma, you know. You can’t just smoke in here.” I scoffed angrily, standing up and stomping my way to the window, trying to keep my house free from irritants. “Have some decency, you old hag.” 

“Oh, I forgot just how **sweet** you are, sweetie… really~” She did it again, having very little regard to what I was saying. “Besides, I thought Darcey wasn’t a real person, isn’t that what you said, dear?” 

“Is this about Bella again? I told you already-”

“This is about Alecia.”

_Alecia…_ It had been years since I heard that name, and even longer since she had died. 12 years ago to be exact. 

It had been 12 years since Alecia had been put down.

“What about her, mom?” 

“You need to patch up your relationship with your sister.” 

“My sister?” I paused for a moment, trying to ration it out in my brain. “Eugh, right… Candace…”

_Candace._

_Candace. Candace. Candace. Candace. Candace. Candace. Candace._

The name never felt right slipping off of my tongue. It was vomit worthy. Deplorable. Disgusting. 

At least I thought it was at the time… but that was before I had to stop and take a cold hard look at who I was as a person, and as a sister. 

“You’ve never once even called her that, have you?” My mother asked, and I simply shook my head no.

“What if she doesn’t forgive me, mother.” I paused, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed, saying nothing as my mother exhaled the smoke from her lungs. “I was very vocal about not supporting her when she… you know-”

“When she came out as a woman, you mean?” She asked again, and I nodded once more. “And then what happened?”

“And then my husband came out as a woman…” 

“And then?” My mother kept pestering me for more, despite already knowing the answer. 

“And then I came out and started buying up all the girls in the world, straight from Cyrus’ stock no less~” I sighed, leaving the window open as I took my seat again. 

Or, alternatively, I could eat shit tripping over my stupid leg just trying to get back to my chair. 

“God. Fucking. Damn it.” I whined, turning back to my mother as she held my cane out for me to take, which I did, violently swiping it out of her hand and climbing back to my feet. “I should just give up and have this stupid thing amputated.”

My mother sure did get a chuckle out of that one. “That’s what I did~”

“I’m fully aware, mom…” I limped my way back to the couch, not bothering to sit down across from her then. “Is that why you invented the cane?”

“One of the reasons, yeah… it is a fancy little piece of tech, don’t you think?”

My mother, Lilith Mariam, was the woman responsible for just about every piece of usable tech my family possessed, including the very fancy collars clasped to the necks of all three of my slaves. But it wasn’t limited to that of course, the cane I used to navigate around thanks to my stupid limp was also loaded with special advancements.

The technology in my cane alone could kill a person, and it had before. 

“On the topic of slave technology. Your brother says he has a new girl to recommend to you~”

“Oh, of course he does. It doesn’t help that I buy every slave he recommends to me on the spot.”

“He’s good like that, I’ve trained him well.” My mother was also the woman who created the slave facility that my brother now ran, the lucky little punk just got that thing handed to him. “Little Zenna must get lonely around here, doesn’t she?”

“Are you sure this isn’t about Bella? Because you make it sound like it’s about Bella.” I scoffed, not wanting to get off topic. “You said this was about Alecia… what about Alecia?”

“You and I need to have a serious talk about Alecia here soon… but in the meantime, you need to make up with Candace for what you did to that poor girl.”

Alecia and Cardinal St. Clair. Mother and son. A beautiful little pair, at least for a while.

I didn’t know what to make of it at first. The kid was **ten** years old, there was no way a child that young could know for sure that they wanted to transition, and I, being only eighteen, didn’t really respect it from the beginning. 

“Her mother didn’t have anything to leave her when she died, Claudia…” My mother, antithetically, had always treated Candace like one of her own children ever since her mother Alecia died. “I have things to give, and I’m not going to do that to her. Not again.”

“So you **really** are dying, huh?” I bit my lip, clutching my cane in my hand, not wanting to think about it. 

“I know it’s hard, darling…But I will always love you, in this life and the next.” She smiled, taking notice of my cane in my hand. “Do you want my technology?”

“You know I’ve never had a knack for that sort of thing, mom. What would I even do with it anyways?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Have a little bit of fun with it, who knows?” She smiled, picking up her own cane and lifting herself to her feet. 

“Have you told Cyrus yet?”

“Oh… that boy would have a heart attack on the spot.”

“And what about Candace?”

“Candace has been going through a rather rough time lately, from the sounds of it…”

“And I suppose you expect me patching up our relationship to somehow fix that?”

“You have to start somewhere.”

“So that’s it, you’re just going to stand up and walk away?”

“Pretty much.”

My mother was always a straightforward person for the most part, and it would seem that death didn’t really seem to change that. Even when she was faced straight down the barrel of it, Lilith Mariam was a fearless woman. 

“Throw a party for me~”

On the contrary, it seemed like she would rather celebrate. 

“A party?” 

“And make sure to invite your sister, she’s a hell of a time, and her lady friend too~!!” Lilith smiled, shaking her head. “That doll’s a wonderful girl.”

“She’s got a lady friend?” 

“That’s not my place to tell, why don’t you ask her~” 

I helped my mother to the door, kissing her goodbye as she headed back home. 

Sometimes I hated my mom, especially when she was right. But right now was not one of those times.

Right now I was just sad that I was going to lose her. 

No, not sad. Angry. 

I shut the door, beating my head on it for a few moments before turning back to the side room, clutching my cane in my hand. “ **Zenna MacNair!!! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!!!** ” 

↞✶↠

“I’m sorry for hitting so hard, darling.” I sighed, admiring the beautiful sight of poor precious little Zenna. “Sometimes your master just needs to let her anger out.”

“Oh, it’s alright Ma’am. I understand.” 

Oh Zenna. My precious Josephine had two slaves of her own, but I only had the one, and that was Zenna. 

“Master, I-” She used to be so headstrong, until I got to her, and taught her what it meant to be one of **my** slaves. “Permission to worship, Ma’am?”

Precious little thing didn’t even need to wait for a vocal response before climbing onto the sofa next to me. All she needed was a smile to let her know that the answer was a yes.

Out of all the girls I’d possessed, Zenna was my favorite slave, but she wasn’t the first and she surely wouldn’t be the last judging by my track record. Like my little brother had done countless times, I had cycled through a number of slaves before. It wasn’t uncommon for arrangements like that to not work out in the end, especially when you purchase girls off of the zed list. 

_What’s the zed list?_ You ask, really? Has my brother not even stopped to explain anything to you? 

Right, well here’s the basics of how the slave trading system my mother’s family created works, as explained to me by my brother: Which I’m sure just means it has holes in the explanation. 

Class A slaves are the most basic ones-  
They’re the ones off the streets, the people you’ll see on missing person posters in department stores that are most certainly owned by the types of people who are most likely to buy said missing persons off of the slave markets. 

They’re nobodies. The unemployed, the homeless, the sex workers. People like Cecilia- errr, Elizabeth, is the name I think my brother came up with for her? I’ve never been good with adjusting to new names, that’s why all of the wife and I’s slaves get to keep theirs. 

Speaking of our slaves, Darcey was a class A. She was just some disgruntled night shift box store employee, straight out of high school, kicked out of her parents house, an easy target for sex trafficking. 

Class B slaves are the troublesome ones-  
Not to say that they’re difficult to handle **as** slaves, because once anyone is put through the system, they become pretty fiercely put under our boot. 

Troublesome in this case just means the kind of people who stepped too far, and crossed the family in a way that got them sent to the facility as punishment. That Sydney girl who Cyrus was seeing before he settled on his newest slave used to be one of his employees, until she fucked up one too many times. 

There are a lot of other folks who are dangerously close to becoming class B slaves as well, including but not limited to that Fairmont girl, who is in possession of some particularly crucial information that I have a vested interest in keeping secret. 

Autumn, stubborn headed problem child Autumn, was a class B as well. She was just a thug of ours at first, until she started stealing from the family. Needless to say, she doesn’t do that anymore.

Class C slaves are the special ones-  
These ones are the ones who are often specifically hunted down on the request of a client. 

They’re targeted, rather than picked at random. Sometimes it was just because a client wants a very specific celebrity or something, or sometimes it was for something they did, like class B.

The key difference there was that unlike with class B slaves, class C slaves had a pre-selected destination. They didn’t show up in the system like other slaves did because they weren’t ever meant to be up for sale, their existence as a slave is supposed to be hidden. 

Zenna wasn’t always so sweet, but she was always doomed to end up in my hands.  
I went to high school with Zenna MacNair, but back then she was my personal bully, a rough and tumble impoverished girl with family issues who took her anger out on the rich girl with a limp. She somehow turned out to be a police officer, so it’s probably for the best that she isn’t one of those anymore. 

Where was I? Right, the zed list-

Regardless of what class of slave you end up being, you do not want to end up on the zed list. 

The zed list was a gateway to hell where naughty slaves went to die. When someone on the zed list went up for auction, it was because that auction was their last. If a slave on that list goes up for auction and **doesn’t** get purchased, they are sent to the office of one Jane Colton, that is to say, they were functionally dead the moment they left the sale floor. 

It could happen for a variety of reasons, the most common of which was being an unruly slave, but it could also happen to slaves who were theoretically perfectly fine who just never ended up getting purchased. The zed list was also a one stop shop for all of the slaves who were intended to go to a pre-destined owner, before said owner changed their mind before even getting to them. 

In fact, class C slaves were practically on the zed list by default. In fact, Zenna got put on the zed list when I got cold feet and decided that I didn’t want her, who could stand to let their school age bully live in their house after all? It was **seeing** her on the list and knowing that she was doomed to die if I didn’t buy her that eventually made me change my mind back. 

Zenna was impossibly overjoyed when she found out that I had decided to give her a chance at the last possible second, after finding out that I had changed my mind once she was already in the facility. 

She **venerated** me for the fact that I decided to be merciful and allow her into my life, and she’s been an angel ever since. 

Unsurprisingly, **all** of our slaves ended up finding their way on the zed list for one reason or another. 

Problem child among problem children, Autumn Turner, practically held the record for fastest promotion to the zed list for her behavior, she was just **that** unruly. 

Box standard Darcey Peyton also made it onto the zed list, her behavior was perfectly acceptable, exceptional even, but nobody wanted her, so she stayed in the system for years. The poor thing just got unlucky really, because it’s not like it’s her own fault her teeth are crooked, not all slaves can be beauties straight off the shelf.

All of these girls got recommended to me at the last minute by my brother, knowing that I just couldn’t help myself with them. They were the best selection of slaves who were on their last leg, and just needed another chance to get it right this time. 

But there was one other reason that I could think of for a slave to get put on the zed list. 

_Being returned._

It was an extremely rare thing for a slave to be returned to the facility, oftentimes if they didn’t work out, they were just killed. That’s what my brother did to the slaves he didn’t like, they never got a final chance to find a better owner. If Liz couldn’t do better than the girls before her, she would have been killed, just like Sydney. 

Of course not all people were as cruel as my brother. Sometimes owners didn’t want their former slaves to die, so they sent their slaves back on the promise that they would find a good home. 

Which they often did not. 

I was one such person who wasn’t usually so cruel as Cyrus was, but I never returned my slaves to the facility because I knew better. 

I was the last line of defense for some of these girls. My brother knew that if I couldn’t get them back in line, no one could. A girl came to me because I was the only place for them to go. 

But that just meant that unfortunately, if I had to get rid of one of my slaves, there wasn’t anywhere else for them to go. I didn’t like to do it, but when I had to get rid of one of them, I had to put them down. 

Bella. I still missed Bella, and so did Zenna. But there wasn’t anywhere else for her to go. 

Bella Springer was a doomed effort from the start really, because she came with a fatal flaw. She still loved her last owner, even though her last owner didn’t love her. Her last owner didn’t want her, **I** did, but she didn’t want to be with me. So she no longer is. 

“Zenna, dear.” I stroked her hair gently, admiring the four leafed clover design shaved into the side of her hair, tracing over it with my finger for what must have been the thousandth time. “Do you still… miss Bella?”

“I think we all miss Bella, Ma’am.” Zenna shuffled in my lap, slowly sitting up next to me. “Why do you ask?”

 _Why did I ask?_ Why else would I ask, I couldn’t help but muse over the possibility of getting a new slave. 

Cyrus had recommended someone new to me after all, and that probably meant that whoever she was, she was on the zed list. 

“My brother has recommended a new slave to me.” I pondered how much information I really ought to give to her. “I was wondering whether or not to give her a chance here~”

“Have you met her yet, Ma’am? Last time you didn’t go see a slave you were recommended, they got sold, didn’t they?” Zenna smiled, trying not to pry too deep. “If you would like her, then I approve, Ma’am. Anything for you if you think it’s what’s right.”

I didn’t _really_ want a new slave. But I couldn’t dismiss the idea offhand. 

Because truthfully, everytime I end up taking a look at a slave, I end up buying them then and there. If I wanted to just let her go to another bidder, I would need to stay home… but last time I did that, the girl didn’t end up getting sold.

And she died. 

“I’m considering it…” I sighed, lifting myself to my feet with my cane. “But for now, get back to work~”

↞✶↠

“Cut to the chase Cyrus, who is she?”

My little brother hadn’t even had time to come in and sit down before I was hounding him for more details. 

“You know what happened to the last girl I bought from you. I’m not just going to bail an undeserving slave out of her rightful death again. If you think she’d be a good fit, you’d better tell me why.”

“Is this really why you wanted to see me? Couldn’t you just wait until I came to you?” Cyrus, a man always filled with ulterior motives, was stunned that I was being so upfront first thing after he got in the door. He hadn’t even had the time to recover from the little kiss on the lips I had greeted him with. “Who even told you anyways?”

“Mother did.” I swallowed nervously, frowning. “Did mother tell you what’s going on?”

“Yes.” Cyrus answered with a single word and nothing more. “And there’s four girls on display this week. One of which is on the zed list.”

“And who is that?” 

“She’s this girl in the packet, the one at the very back.” Cyrus snarled, pulling a packet of information from his bag and holding it out for me to take. “The **only** reason I’m coming to you for her is because I know you like to save girls from impending doom. But if you’d rather pass on her, that’s fine by me… I can’t really say for certain that she even deserves a second chance, you just seem to take pride in being a safe haven for slaves on their last leg is all. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

I glared at him, swiping the packet from his hand. “What’s wrong with her?”

“…Wrong with her?”

“Why is she on the zed list, Griffin?” I rolled my eyes, needing to know whether looking at her profile was even worth it before putting in the effort. “Is she a troublemaker? Did nobody want her? Did her intended owner get cold feet? There has to be a reason, what is it?”

“She reached her intended owner’s side.” Cyrus sighed. “And then she was returned, less than six months later.” 

I took a deep breath, exhaling my anger as I set the bundle of information down on the table next to me without even looking at it. “No. I will not be giving shelter to a slave whose last master didn’t want them. Not again.”

“Then don’t. Nobody’s making you. I’m just giving you the option.” Cyrus rolled his eyes, leaving the packet with me on the table. “If she dies, she dies. It’s no skin off my back. You’re the one who disapproves of killing slaves.”

“Ever since I put down a slave with my own hands for the first time, I haven’t really wanted to, no.” I turned away from him. “You know what happened to Bella. I’d rather not have another girl like that on my hands, I’d rather her blood be on your hands.”

“And **that** is why mother gave **me** control of the facility, and not you.” Cyrus continued, rubbing it in my face just slightly. “Like I said, if she dies, she dies. Her last owner would be none the wiser.” 

“Well good for whoever that is, I guess.” I scoffed, responding with a sarcastic rebuke. “You make sure to give her a good rape session before she dies, **okay**?”

“I might just have to, yeah.” He sighed. “So why did you really want to see me, if you don’t want the slave?”

“I wanted to ask about Candace…”

“Candace?” Cyrus sounded shocked. “I’ve never even heard you say that name-”

“Look, I’m trying. Okay?” I protested. “And I’m going to try and patch things up between us.”

“Pfft. Good luck.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re going to need it.”

“Alright, listen. Mom wants a party before she goes out, and I want to invite Candace, okay?” I continued. “Does that sound reasonable, little brother?”

“It’s a good start, but Candace is leaving town tonight.” My brother snickered. “She’s on her way to San Francisco soon.”

“Oh, good!! That means I won’t have to deliver my invitation in person.” I smiled, skipping towards my desk and beginning to scribble something down. “You can do it for me~”

“Come again?” He was, again, very shocked. “That’s a little presumptuous of you, sis.”

“No, it’s not. You’re my little brother, and you’ll do as I say~” I sighed, trying to put a little bit of heart and soul into my little sister’s handwritten invitation. “I heard that she’s been having a rough time, and I want her to know that I’m going to be here for her from now on, I’ll make it a plus one event and everything, she can even bring her lady friend~”

“Having a rough time is a little bit of an understatement… her lady friend left her recently.”

“We all have to have our first heartbreak sooner or later.” I finished up the letter and folded it into the envelope before handing it off to my brother. “Make sure you get a picture of her face when she opens it, okay?”

“Everyone wants to use me as a middle man today. First mom and now you.” Cyrus just rolled his eyes and swiped the letter from my hand like I had with the packet. “I guess I have a plane to catch, huh?”

“I guess you do~” I escorted him to the door, giving him a hug and a kiss on the lips to say goodbye. “Love you, little brother~”

“I love you too, but you’ve gotta stop doing that.” He shuddered. “Just because dad does it to you doesn’t mean you can do it to everyone else.”

“Oh whatever, don’t be a buzzkill~” 

I saw Cyrus out to the front door, waving goodbye to him as he and his assistant Phil drove away, returning back upstairs to my office shortly thereafter. 

“Oh!! There you are, Ma’am~!!” Autumn was waiting for me outside of the door to my office as I arrived, bowing for me as I approached. “I have lunch ready to be served to you, Master. Will you be eating in your office today?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I think I will. Get to it, cutie~” 

Oh the wonders of having multiple slaves, it was the only life worth living, and I couldn’t believe I let myself go so long without it. Autumn technically belonged to Josephine of course, slaves imprinted on one master, and not two, it’s just how their physiology works.

Autumn and Darcey answer to my wife first and foremost, and to me secondarily, which still includes treating me with due respect and referring to me as their master. 

But Zenna- Zenna was all mine, and if we got a new slave, she would be too~

Cyrus left the paperwork on my desk. Now normally that wouldn’t be an issue, I had a paper shredder next to my desk, and I was just about to put it through when my curiosity got the best of me- which it often did. 

_Alright then, let’s get a good look at you._

I held it in my hand and flipped through it, swiping past the other girls on sale. “Abbagail Lyndsay… Daphne Scott… Lucy Barnett…” I stopped as soon as I got to her page. “Chloe…”

I was instantly taken aback by just how bizarre her profile was, it was practically blank. 

The identity of her previous owner had been redacted of course, but as for her, she also had practically nothing on her. She had no last name, there was zero information about who she was in her past life, nothing on her behavioral issues, or the reason for being returned. 

There wasn’t even so much as a photo. What was there was also extremely baffling. She was listed as “Chloe.” There was no last name, just the first name. Her number was #0000, and she was a Class C, which was honestly the most baffling part. 

No one had ever returned a Class C slave back to the facility after they had reached their destination. Never. 

And she was on the zed list. Great.

“Lunch is served, Ma’am.” Autumn returned with food after a few minutes. 

I sighed, smiling at her as I closed the packet. There wasn’t going to be any help from me getting out of her fate, this Chloe girl was just going to have to impress some other owner enough to find a good home. I swept it aside, turning to the waste bin and dropping the paperwork inside. 

↞✶↠

“Well hello there~!!” I smiled as I saw my father step inside. “I wasn’t expecting **you** today… to what do I owe the pleasure??”

He smiled, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me towards him. My father was always happy to see me. “Well hey there, doll.”

I chuckled under my breath, letting him plant a kiss on the lips before letting go of my lap and letting me step away. “Good evening, father~”

It took a few moments for me to finally notice, but eventually I did catch wind of the shocked and frankly kind of disgusted look on his assistant’s face. “Holy shit… what the fuck?”

I stepped back and smiled at her, rolling my eyes. “And good evening to you too, Mrs. Watts~”

“Never fucking do that again… please.” 

“Oh calm down, Leah.” My father snickered, and for a moment you could hear his assistant squeak as he smacked her on the ass. “Don’t you worry, she’s just my daughter~”

“That’s what makes it **weird** , Sir!!” She growled at him, her face bright red with a combination of embarrassment and anger at getting her ass slapped by her boss.

Cardinal shrugged her off, moving on to the next topic of conversation. “So, your mother... what’s this your brother tells me about a party?”

“Mother, like usual, is being rash and impulsive… she wants a party.” I followed my father into the lounge. “She expects to pass in the next few months.”

“Good riddance-”

“ **FATHER!!!** ” I practically spat flames at him as I shouted. “ **No.** That’s my mother you’re talking about.”

“Eugh. Death happens sweetheart. I was still married to Alecia when she died.” My father took a seat in my favorite spot, knowing very well that it was where I liked to sit. “Remember what you did to my Alecia before she died?”

“Alecia was a slave, father.” I protested. “My mother is an **actual** human being.”

“Right… keep telling yourself that.”

“What do you want, dad?” I snarled. “Because clearly you don’t care about the fact that my mother is dying, so get to the point, please?”

My father sat there for a moment, turning to Leah and nodding for her to explain.

“Aria Fairmont.” Leah sighed. “What does she have?”

“What does she have?” I scoffed. “She has 0002B.” I paused for a moment, and when I didn’t get a reaction from either of them, continued explaining. “Charlotte’s parcel?”

“And you’re sure that she has it?” My father responded.

“If I could **prove** that she has it, I’d have it back already.” I snapped back. “But yes, I’m sure she has it.”

Once upon a time, my sister brought a very pristine little thing to my house for a family gathering, and by the time she was gone, said **thing** had made off with something very important of mine. 

I shouldn’t even know the girl’s name, but I do, and that’s because the dirt she uncovered was about **me**.

“I should like to have her hanged for that, you know?” I continued to snarl. “Like a **crow**.”

“Whoa. Holy shit.” Leah interrupted again. “Is she allowed to say things like that?”

“I’m an adult, Leah. I can say whatever I want.”

“Says the girl who hasn’t changed since high school.”

“I’m trying. I really am.”

“Yeah. Well I’m about to put a bullet in a recovering racist’s head if she’s not careful.”

“Threaten me like that again, and I’ll make you regret it.” I snarled at her. “I can see to it that you end up dead on the end of someone’s cock, just like little Sydney did.”

Leah had no response to that, just a shocked gasp, her eyes going wide with disgust just hearing me have the gall to mention her name. 

“Alright, girls.” Cardinal interjected. “Calm down.”

My father had this way of commanding control over everyone in a room, regardless of who it was. It was enough to get to me, and I in turn was capable of getting Tallulah Paciente to kiss my feet with a few carefully placed words, but my father was in a league of his own. 

“I’m sorry, Sir.” The two of us caught ourselves speaking unison, something which we both couldn’t help but smiling at. 

“That was too far, I’m sorry.” I sighed, taking Leah’s hand as I apologized. “I’m trying to get better, I really am.”

“I trust you.” Leah smiled. “Thanks.”

“That party I mentioned earlier, you and your husband are free to stop by if you’d like, Leah~” I smiled, trying to be more polite. 

“I would love to come, but my husband is dead, I’m afraid.” Leah scoffed. “That cheating rat bastard can rot in hell.”

“I’m assuming you put a bullet in his head, then.”

“No, actually.” Leah blushed. “I didn’t have to lift a finger~”

“Then who-”

“I did, sweetheart.” My father stood up, and smiled, putting one hand on Leah’s shoulder. “The punk crossed me once too many times. He was a shitty enforcer anyways.”

“I see… so what’s the plan then, you two?”

“The plan is for you to host your little party for your mom… and you-” Cardinal tapped Leah on the ass again, something which she very much did not like. “You’ll attend by yourself and be my eyes and ears, but in the meantime, I need that parcel back.” 

“From Aria, you mean?” Leah responded. “Aria’s with Candace right now-”

“There’s a problem with that then.” I grinned. “Candace is leaving the state tonight~”

The two of them both looked at me like I had electrocuted their mother’s to death, which kind of made my skin burn. “Oh come on, I didn’t deadname her, did I?”

“It’s just very weird not hearing you do that, dear.”

“I guess you have changed since high school, huh?”

After a long drawn out conversation about things that I, and frankly you, don’t really care about, I bid my father adieu. Kissing him on the lips and making Leah squeal with discomfort as they left, seeing him off like I had my mother and my brother already today. 

_I guess everyone in the family is coming to see me today, huh?_ I paused, sighing under my breath. _Everyone except-_

“Ahem.” My train of thought was interrupted by one of my workers. “I caught your little rascal digging through your office on the cameras. What should I do with her?”

Nell Monet, my primary enforcer here at home, was someone who I hired after my last enforcer was shot and killed by a group of drug addicts. But ever since I’d hired them, things seemed to go pretty smoothly. 

They were basically my version of Leah Watts or Phil Burke, a right hand man to keep the pesky little slaves in line here at home… and it looked like they had apprehended one such slave red handed. 

“Darcey…” I sighed, seeing my slave being held by her pretty blonde hair in my enforcer’s hand. “You’re usually such a good girl, too~”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am.” Darcey pleaded. “If I had known it was inappropriate, I wouldn’t have been doing it, I swear. I respect your authority too much to misbehave…”

I sighed, taking a quick glance down at my cane before slowly making my way over to the pair of them. “What did she do?”

“She was digging through your bin, Ma’am.” Nell held the paperwork I had tossed out for me to take. “Is this something you wanted disposed of, Ms. Mariam?”

“It was, yes.” Darcey shut her eyes in fear as I approached, swiping the paperwork from my enforcer. “Leave us.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” They nodded, finally letting go of Darcey. “Let me know if you need me.”

“Will do.” I sighed, taking a good long look at the packet before shifting my gaze onto my slave. “Do you have anything to say for yourself, girl?”

“I’m sorry, Master.” Darcey dropped to her knees without even needing to be told to. “It won’t happen again, I’ll remember this.”

“I’m sure you will, Darcey. Because I won’t let you forget it.” I picked the end of my cane up from off the floor, pointing it at her. 

Darcey flinched, cowering in fear as the cane got closer to her, and I can tell that her fear was only growing as I pressed the cane to her collar, rather than smacking her across the face with it.

 _Click._ **_Zap._ **

It was always a hassle trying to carry around more than one controller at a time, that’s why I always carried my cane with me. 

At least partially, the main reason I carried it around, despite being thirty-four years old, is because I would fall over without it. 

But it was also really nice just being able to grab ahold of my slaves by the collar with nothing but the steel rod I used to walk with, and sending a dangerous volley of electricity through their bodies. 

“Now what were you doing in my office?” 

“I was taking out the trash, Ma’am. Trash day is tomorrow.”

“And so you decided to dig through my trash instead of disposing of it?”

“I couldn’t help myself, Miss. But I know better now, it was a mistake, I won’t make it again.”

“You had better now.” I snarled. “Back in the good old days, slaves had neither the right nor the ability to read, and if I was in control, it would still be that way, little missie~”

“Yes, Ma’am. I am so dreadfully sorry…”

“You’re forgiven, dear.” I pressed a button on my cane, watching her face light up as it detached from her collar. 

“Really, Ma’am?”

“Yes, really.” I smiled. “Now fly along little bird, go show Josie some love~”

“Yes, Master. Thank you.” She smiled, bowing for me before she ran off. “I love you so much, Master.”

And that’s where things stood for a while. 

I shredded those documents and got rid of any trace they were ever there. 

I had made up my mind about not getting a new slave.

Until I hadn’t.

↞✶↠

I yawned, stretching my body out for just a moment before rolling over to the woman in bed with me. “Oh Josephine, darling~” 

Two days had passed, and the only thing that had consistently been on my mind was that name, Chloe. Not my wife, not my slaves, but that name. It stuck to my brain like a song on loop. 

“Josie, dear?” The sun had just set, but I needed to shake her awake before she fell asleep for good. “I need to speak with you about something~”

“Is it about the slave girl?” Josie slowly and groggily sat up in bed, still reeling from a hangover. “Because if it is, can it please wait until the morning?”

“It can’t wait until the morning, my love. That girl is on the sale floor right now.”

“I thought you said she wasn’t going on sale until tomorrow?”

“I told you that yesterday, darling.”

“Right.” Josie winced, holding her aching head. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay sweetie~” 

Josephine Jacquel was the prettiest woman I knew, but she hadn’t always been that way. When I first met her, she was the prettiest boy I ever knew, yet she was still the prettiest thing I had ever laid my eyes on.

“Oh pretty girl~” I smiled, sitting up in bed behind her as I stroked her gorgeous red hair. 

Pause. I can see the confusion in your eyes reading all of this. You have questions.

_Candace and Claudia have a strained relationship because Claudia didn’t support her little sister when she came out of the closet._

_Claudia has a wife. Claudia and her wife have three slaves, who are all women, which means Claudia is a lesbian. Claudia’s wife is somehow coincidentally also a transgender woman, just like her little sister is, which seems super ironic and too unlikely for it to actually happen._

_But if Claudia is all of these things, then how could she not support her sister’s transition?_

And the answer is complicated. But this might be the only chance I get to explain it to you, so I’ll try my best-

Demographics in Florida are weird, like everything else in Florida is. Though we may live in a city, we live in a city on a small island barely connected to the mainland which is practically owned by the mafia. 

I grew up in a mafia family, which was not only Catholic, but also happened to be quite wealthy and conservative. To say that I hated the idea of same-sex marriage back when I was first old enough to vote would have been pretty accurate. 

I was a conservative catholic girl growing up in a family that pretty heavily adhered to the idea of women being subservient to their husbands. My father owned slaves and raped his goddamn maid after all, and part of the agreement between my mother and father during their divorce was that ownership of the slave facility would go to my little brother Cyrus, and not to me. 

By the time I was an adult I had pretty much come to terms with the fact that my little brother would become the head of the family, and that I would instead marry into some other powerful family in order to give them their own sons to inherit their father’s legacy. 

But then Cardinal Jr. came along and did the unthinkable. He was a total accident, but he had been a perfectly fine boy up until he was old enough to think for himself. 

That kid was ten years old when he decided that he wanted to be a girl. When he insisted that he **was** a girl… and his mother just let him. 

There’s an eight year gap between myself and my little sister, which meant by then I was an adult who had made up my mind about my own views. 

If **I** had tried to even so much as say that I liked women back then, my mother would have smacked me upside the head and made me swallow one of her cigarettes, which she did. 

I was a good little conservative girl at heart because when _I_ tried to come out and tell my mother that I didn’t want to marry a boy, she corrected me. 

When _I_ tried to insist that I didn’t want to be subservient to my future husband, regardless of what the bible said, my mother was there to set me straight. But when Candace came out as a girl, there was no one to take her aside and shove a bar of soap down her throat, so it felt like it was somehow my responsibility to set her straight like I had been set straight. 

She needed to be corrected, but absolutely nothing could break her, not when she had her mother behind her. Being my father’s slave, Alecia couldn’t stand up to me, but she was endlessly supportive of little Candace, and I hated her for that. 

_Why couldn’t my mother have been that supportive of me as a child? Why did it take her until Candace was an adult to tell me that she’d always be there to support me? Why did it take her until I was Candace’s age now to apologize to me?_

I didn’t support Candace at the time, not because I thought it was fundamentally wrong, but because I had been locked into the closet for my whole life, and that just didn’t seem fair. 

Somehow Candace was the thing that made my mother change her mind, not me, Candace- whose mother had always been supportive of her from the very start. 

But everything changed when I eventually met Josephine.

Imagine me having never held onto a successful relationship with a rich boy in my life, 26 years old, giving into my desires and attending a burlesque show for the first time- and seeing **him**.

I wouldn’t have even been able to tell that he wasn’t a woman if I didn’t already recognize him. The heir to the Jacquel family- a family of drug lords. 

His feminine beauty was enough to get me on board immediately, and I married a drag queen, the closest thing I could get to a real woman until she actually came out as a woman. 

Of course she was a woman. I was **always** a lesbian, even if I didn’t self identify as one, just like she had always been a woman. Just like my little brother had always really been my little sister. 

What we had was always taboo, I was so close to embracing my own sexuality, but I was also very close to losing her then and there… I would have left her if it wasn’t for one thing-

“Did Zenna put Lilian to bed already?”

I’m not just her wife, I’m the mother of her child. I was seven years old when my parents finalized their divorce, but Lilian was still only five now, and she was three at the time. 

Unlike my mother and father, Josephine and I still loved each other, but she just couldn’t keep going without acknowledging how she really felt. She couldn’t be a father. 

She’s just as much Lilian’s mother as I am, and I’m going to make sure that I’m always there to accept her for whoever she grows up to be, just like I wished my mother had been.

Just like Candace’s mother had been for her, until she passed away…

“I’ll be sure not to wake her up on my way out.” 

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the facility.”

“But I thought you didn’t have an appointment?”

“I don’t. But my brother owns the facility, and he got it from my mother.” I slowly climbed out of bed, trying to get myself dressed in something fancy, but not too fancy, my cane in hand to make sure I didn’t fall over. “She wants a party, the least she could do is let me use her name to get into the facility~”

↞✶↠

I never went anywhere alone, I didn’t have to, I had assistants to drive me places and take care of the things that were beneath me, and this was Russel’s job, not mine. 

They weren’t slaves, they were actual people, which unfortunately meant I had to pay them and treat them according to law. It was a little bit disappointing, but I couldn’t really trust slaves to do this kind of thing.

Something about knowing that you or someone you love is about to die really puts things into perspective for you. My mother wanted a party, so she was going to get a party.

But before I could focus on making sure my mother’s last celebration was a night to remember, I had to get this girl off of my mind. My mother was dying, and I couldn’t stop that, but I could at least make sure that this Chloe girl didn’t die as well. 

“I’m going downstairs now Jane, either escort me to the basement, or fork over the elevator key.”

“But I can’t just-”

“Yes you can, now do as I say, or I’ll send **you** to your own office to be put down.”

I was fortunate enough to inherit some of my father’s innate power to intimidate and overwhelm anyone I came across. 

“Y-yes, Ms. Mariam. Right away, follow me~” Jane led me downstairs, not bothering to argue any further. “I really must protest this, though. We have other clients who **actually** made appointments.”

I didn’t have an appointment, because I was sure that I wasn’t going to be buying her, but now that I was here I was just glad that I had come to my senses and decided to give her a shot.

_I’m throwing a party, which means I need maids._

That was going to be my internal justification for buying her, if I decided that was something I was going to do, which I wasn’t planning on. I wasn’t there to buy her, I was just there to take a look, and nothing more.

I stopped outside the door, there it was, she was on the other side. This was literally the last possible moment I could have to get a look at her before it’s too late. I had rushed here as fast as I could, but at least I had made it just in time. 

“Look, I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I just-” I put my hand up to the handle, taking a deep breath and shaking my nerves off before opening the door and stepping inside. “I’m only going to be a minute, I swear.”

The door closed behind me, and whatever the response I may or may not have been getting from the people who worked here went quiet behind me as the silence of the small saleroom took over.

My eyes scanned across the room at eye level, which for me was a lot higher than most people, giving my above average height, the room seemed relatively empty. It had been a few years since I had done this, so I forgot to expect the slave to be kneeling when I first stepped inside, but once I realized that I looked down, and there she was. 

_Oh Lord…_

I froze for a moment when I saw her, which was fine because it seemed that the poor girl was much too busy looking me over from head to toe. Which I could appreciate, even if she ought to be keeping her gaze down, it was just one point of justification towards not buying her. 

But I could excuse her for not being able to keep her eyes off of me, almost everyone found themselves in awe of my height. Besides, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her either. 

_Holy shit…_

I felt myself letting go of the cane, hearing it settle against the wall as I found myself needing to get as close a look of her as I could. I was able to walk to her without it, but she most certainly took notice of it propped up against the wall.

“I’ve only got you for a few minutes, before they come in to drag me out of here~” Even as her gaze drifted over to the cane, mine stayed fixed on her kneeling body as I stood in front of her, looking down upon her delicate little beauty from above. Her profile hadn’t come with a picture, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I was more than stunned with what I got. 

_Just look at you~_

She looked up at me, finally letting me stare her straight in those gorgeous hazel eyes of hers. Those eyes were full of fear, but all it took from me was a little smile and a wink to help ease the tension in her pretty little ginger brain. “But I just couldn’t resist~”

 _Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._ You could almost hear the gears in her brain going off as she looked over everything I had to offer, wide-eyed as she took it all in, and there was a lot for her to take in, which she clearly wasn’t ready for. “I- I’m sorry… I wasn’t expecting anyone else today, Ma’am.”

“I know you weren’t, I didn’t really set up an appointment, but I just couldn’t stay away…” 

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and neither could she. 

She took her time adjusting to my presence, which I allowed, if only because she was being polite. She hadn’t expected to see me so it was only fair that she was caught off guard, it just gave me more time to admire everything she had to offer. 

_Wavy orange hair, hazel eyes, sharp eyebrows, puffy cheeks, pouty round lips…_

One thing struck me about her appearance more than anything else, because her appearance was a lot more than the sum of her parts, that was for sure. She was one of the prettiest little pictures I had ever laid my eyes on, and for good reason.

_She looks like Josephine._

The resemblance was uncanny, and for just a moment I let that get the better of me, because the instant I found myself getting lost in those eyes was the instant I felt my knee buckling under my weight. I dropped to my knees in front of her, but even as I knelt I towered over her, and she took note of that, which put an eager smile on my face. “It’s kind of a last minute decision, but last time I passed up on the chance to come see a slave day one, they were gone before I got a chance to come take a peek.”

It was a rather soft way of putting it, but it was technically true. The last time I decided not to come look at one of the slaves recommended to me, she ended up getting killed. 

And I almost made the same mistake here… 

I was simultaneously kicking myself for being so stupid that I almost let last time repeat itself, and patting myself on the back, relieved that I had changed my mind at the last second. 

I almost let a beauty like this die, just because I didn’t want her to end up like Bella ended up. 

But what **really** was the worst that could happen? How is dying like Bella died any worse than being put down here? 

Answer: It’s not.

“But you… you were recommended highly, why is that?” 

_Come on, Claudia. Don’t just let her pretty looks rope you into buying her. She needs to be useful to you, or she isn’t worth having. She may have some of Josie’s looks, but she’s not Josie._

I bit my lip excitedly, trying to curb my excitement even as I continued to stare at her cute little curves. Talking myself down from buying her even as we spoke. 

_She’s a slave. Her life isn’t equivalent to that of an actual person, no matter how cute she is- She’s still just gator bait._

“You’re pretty… but I’m not after pretty, I need a maid.”

_You just happen to be very pretty gator bait… but I’m no croc._

I was saying that for my own benefit as much as I was saying it for hers. Most slaves who came through here were sex slaves, there was little chance for this one to be any better of a slave than any of the other girls. If I couldn’t justify buying her over the other girls on the sales floor, I couldn’t justify buying her at all. 

“A- a maid?” **That** excited her. It was a sign, the cute little thing was like a dog whose ears suddenly perked up at the idea of getting to go outside for a walk. The slave mongrel was eager to get out of its cage. “I can be a maid…”

“Oh yeah? Where are you from?” I had the biggest smile on my face just hearing her speak, I couldn’t look away from those cute little eyes of hers, I wanted them so badly. “What did you do before all of this?”

_Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes. This I can work with._

“I… well I’m from California, but-” She faltered under the weight of my presence, blinking first and looking away, her gaze drifting down to the floor below. It was more than just a sign of submission, it was a plea.

Slaves liked to cling to this idea that not just any person was worthy enough to belong to, it was a belief that helped protect them more often than not, even if it was fundamentally wrong. This girl could belong to anyone, and she should be grateful for it. 

But that decision to lower her gaze, not just out of instinct, but voluntarily tilting her head downwards to break eye contact with someone who’s gaze was challenging you to keep staring, was her blinking first. 

And blinking first was the way that slaves acknowledged you as someone worthy of obeying. She was asking for it and she didn’t even know it. 

“But, I can be a maid… I have more than the basics that they teach here, I’ve been properly trained as a maid, Ma’am.”

But no matter how much either of us wanted it, desire still wasn’t enough. _I need you to be useful to me, Chloe._

Right, I should probably ask her what her name is, just to make sure I even have the right girl. It would be really awkward if I somehow made a silly mistake like that. 

“I’m curious where you learned those, exactly… What’s your name, doll?” I had already one that little staring contest, there was no reason to stay on the floor, especially knowing how far above her I was. I stumbled to my feet, struggling just slightly without my cane, but I managed. I wanted her to think I didn’t need it for now. 

“Gosh, I’m in such a rush that I’m forgetting to even look at your paperwork…” I made my way to the table, forcing myself to look away from her just long enough to get a look at her paperwork. I didn’t feel the need to look at it when I came in, I may have shredded the copy I had at home, but not before I had memorized everything that was on it. There was nothing on the packet that I didn’t already know.

“Chloe. My name is Chloe, Ma’am.”

Oh thank god, she answered quickly. There was no way I was going to be able to keep my eyes off of her for long enough to look at her paperwork. I just needed confirmation that she was who I thought she was. 

“Chloe is a pretty name, I like that… apparently you have no last name though.” I set the packet aside without even reading a single word on it, too eager to get my hands on her to keep my eyes away. She had no last name, I remembered that much without having to read it off of a slip of paper. “Is there a story behind that?”

The answer: yes. Of course there was a story behind that. In any case where you find yourself wondering whether there was a story behind something, there was always a story behind it to be told. 

“It’s complicated, Ma’am… I-” 

It just wasn’t a story that I cared about hearing right now, I did already know the answer after all.

“You’ve been owned before, right. That makes sense.” I picked my cane back up with my dominant hand and twirled it, partially just to show off, but partially to seem menacing. If she thinks that I’m going to leave because she was a used slave, she might try harder to convince me she was worth it. 

“I don’t mind that, at least at face value… it means you’ve been properly trained on being a maid, and you theoretically know how to fully devote yourself to someone, and trust me, that’s quite important to me… but what gives me pause is the fact that you were returned for some reason…”

I stared at my cane for a moment before pointing it at her, remembering all of the things that I had to do to Bella with this thing. I put the end of it under her chin, mere inches from being able to activate her collar as I tilted her head upwards. If she turned out to be like Bella, I was going to treat her like Bella. “Why did that happen, Chloe?”

She swallowed nervously, but she didn’t resist. “Permission to speak freely, Ma’am?”

“Permission granted.” 

“There is a lot that I can’t say about my last master without giving away her identity, and keeping her identity safe is very important to me, especially right now… but things just didn’t work out the way she was expecting them to.” She relaxed into my control, and even as I pulled my cane out from under her chin, I could feel the control I still had over her. “She liked me, and I liked her, but her family didn’t like me so much.”

_She’s still in love with her last owner, not a good sign. That’s 2-2 Chloe, you had better give me a good reason to buy you here soon._

“Family business is always dreadful business, isn’t it?” I set the tip of my cane back down on the floor, trying not to fall over. “I’m fortunate to have a very loving family myself~” 

As much of a loving family as I can have from a mother who didn’t approve of my decisions growing up, and who loves my little brother more than I. A father who still very much thinks of my little sister as his heir. A brother who’s just a complete psychopath. And a little sister who still hasn’t forgiven me for what happened between us. 

_If her former owner’s family is anything like mine, I’m really not surprised~_

“I grew up in a foster home, Ma’am…” Her voice was nervous, but measured. Polite, even as she lowered her head back down. “I’ve never had so much of a family, so it was quite devastating that hers didn’t like me.”

“You poor thing!” I scoffed. Fuck, she’s an orphan. Of course she’s an orphan, I shouldn’t be surprised. She needs a **real** family, and I was very desperate to give that to her. “That’s absolutely dreadful.”

She was exactly the kind of girl I went for, one in need of rescuing. 

“It wasn’t too terrible Ma’am, you shouldn’t worry about me.”

“Oh hush… I’ll worry about you all I want.” I shook my head, looking down at the time as I cooed at her, watching the time I have with her slip away. I need to make a decision, and I need to make it soon. “I hate the thought of parents abandoning their children… I would never do such a thing to my kids.”

_Time to speed things up a little, how is she with kids?_

“You have kids, Ma’am?” Her response didn’t seem to betray the idea that she was alright with kids, but it wasn’t the most confident of answers, she probably had her own mommy and daddy issues which were far worse than mine. 

“Just one. As well as a loving wife to help me take care of ‘em~” I bragged, and why shouldn’t I brag? Josie and Lilian were my pride and joy, and if this girl wanted to be a part of **our** family, she needed to be able to serve them just as well as she can serve me. “But don’t let that intimidate you, I suppose…” 

“Intimidate me?”

“My wife and I are looking for a maid. We have a large home, and neither of us are very keen on doing the housework when we can have servants do that for us.” I took a quick glance towards the door as I stepped towards the slave again. I could hear the chatter of Phil Burke and Jane Colton outside, which meant I was likely to be escorted back upstairs soon. “My wife and I are very much in love… but I just know for a fact that she wouldn’t be able to keep her eyes off of you~”

She blushed, and it lit up the room. That was it, that was all I needed.

_She’s gay._

Now I myself don’t think of myself as gay, but I **love** cute gay little things like her, and she was blowing me out of the stormy blue water. I couldn’t get enough of her.

“And don’t get me wrong, I can share… but my dearest wife already has two slaves, and **_I_ **really am after a maid, and not much more.” 

I was lying through my fucking teeth. I wanted little rosy cheeked orphan annie here suffocating in my cunt as soon as I could possibly get her there. But I couldn’t betray my mission, not just yet. I didn’t have the time to fuck her here and now, but I absolutely would if I could, from the looks of the table behind me she had already been raped at least once today, and I desperately wanted to put her through that again. 

But I masked my excitement with a stern expression as soon as I felt myself stumbling, gently kneeling in front of her so that I could get one last look into her soul. “I’m being nice now… but I would expect a level of perfection from one of my slaves~”

“As you should, Ma’am.” She spoke without hesitation, clearly excited by the idea of serving as my slave. “Regardless of who my master is… they deserve perfection.”

 _And I’m going to_ **_get_ ** _perfection out of you, my dear._

“I like hearing that, I really do.” I gave her a smile and a wink before standing back up, hearing my brother’s goons outside getting ready to come in and get me. “Though, I am afraid that it’s time for me to go…”

“Thanks for coming to see me, Miss.” She gave me a smile, still blushing. “You’ve been my favorite all day…”

That was probably the best thing I’d heard all day. “I hope you find a good home, Chloe.”

_Mine._

“I hope so too, Ma’am. Thank you…”

_Oh yeah. This one is mine._

↞✶↠

I stepped back out of the room of my own accord, letting Phil escort me back upstairs and to the office of Rachel Hastings, who was currently acting as my brother’s secretary while he was away. 

“Does she have any offers yet?” I couldn’t stand the idea of waiting any longer, this girl was going home with me, and she was going home with me tonight. 

“None yet, Ms. Mariam. But I think one of our other clients was certainly considering-”

“How much do I have to bid to close the auction up front?” I was willing to let someone else walk away with her when I got here as long as she found an owner, but now that I’d gotten my hands on her, I wasn’t going to let her fall into the hands of another bidder. “I’ll pay however much money it takes to buy her outright. I want to take her home tonight.”

“That’s… certainly a possibility, Ms. Mariam. I can phone your brother for you if you’d like?”

“No need. I’ll do it myself.”

And so I did. I called my brother, and I bought her then and there, closing the auction on the spot. Once my brother let me go, I made my request for modifications, and I waited. Eager to get my hands on my new slave~

I knew it was going to take several hours to get my hands on her, but I was willing to wait, so I waited. A rather long time no less, but as soon as I found myself getting bored, I received a pleasant surprise. 

My phone rang. 

“Hello?” I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered it. “This is Claudia.”

“Hey, Claudia, this is Candace… can we talk?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t help but smile, finally getting to hear from her after so many years. “Please, I’d like nothing more.”

“I’m not coming. I’m sorry.” 

My heart just about broke hearing her say that. My mother wanted Candace to be there, and honestly, so did I. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sorry… I just don’t know how comfortable I’d feel after… you know-”

“I understand, really. You don’t need to justify it.”

“Thank you…” She sighed from the other end of the line, relieved that I took it so well. “Maybe next time, if you’d like to invite me to another party-”

“I’m going to invite you to just about every party I ever have from here on out, I promise.”

“Do you mean that?”

“Of course I mean that. I love you, Candace.”

There was a brief pause, but even without a response, I could tell that she was happier than anyone else hearing me say her name for the first time.

“Parties aside, you’re welcome to stop by at any time, really.”

“Thank you, sis… I probably will one of these days-”

“But you should get back to sleep, huh?” I smiled, holding the phone close to me to help me hear better over the commotion behind the desk. “You’re in California, right? Isn’t it pretty late over there?”

“Yeah, I probably should.” She yawned, confirming my suspicions. “We’ll talk again soon, right?”

“Of course we will… one moment-” I pulled the phone away from my head, about ready to shout at whoever was making noise behind the desk, before I realized what the commotion was. 

“Oh. I’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go darling… but it was nice getting to hear from you again… I hope we can talk again soon… I love you… buh bye~”

“Goodnight, Claudia… I love you too.”

I quickly decided to wrap up my phone call so that I could get at her as soon as possible. I couldn’t help but smile as I saw her, and so did she when she got a look at me.

“Was that your daughter?” She sounded loopy, but adorable. 

“That was my little sister, actually.” I smiled, watching the brief looks of panic in both Phil and Jane’s faces, but I didn’t care. I had what I wanted right in front of me. “I haven’t heard from her in years… but she’s out on a trip, and she decided to give me a call~”

“That sounds nice.” The cute little thing was such a chatterbox, but I didn’t mind, I could correct her tomorrow. “Where is she now, then?”

I was blanking just looking at her, the exact details getting away from me as I stared at Chloe’s body in awe. “Oh, it’s slipping my mind… somewhere in California from the sounds of it.”

“I’m from California.” She was just so pretty as she rambled on, that was a girl that I wanted to rape. “San Francisco, to be exact.”

She seemed to be proud of that, but hearing her say it did help remind me. “I do think she’s in San Francisco now, actually~”

The cute little thing seemed frazzled, and not just because of the drugs, it was like she was staring straight into the face of some revelation, but couldn’t put the pieces together. “Are you… the one who bought me?”

“I am indeed~” I waved the workers off from behind her to back off, licking my lips eagerly. “I just couldn’t let you end up as property of someone who was going to mistreat you.”

“I appreciate it.” Her smile was overtaken by her blush, the cute little thing had no idea just how many ways **I** was going to be mistreating her when I got her home. 

“Do go on and show me some respect, young lady.” I couldn’t help myself. I needed to whet my appetite with a little something here and now if I was going to get her back home alive. So I scolded her, but I did it lightheartedly. “I do own you now, you know. Show me the due respect that I deserve, my darling little maid~”

I was going to do my best to take good care of her, hopefully she wouldn’t miss her last owner too badly. I wanted her to like it at home with me. 

“Yes, Ma’am. My apologies.

And she did as she was told, showing her respect to me by bowing down to me, just like the rest of my girls. “Much better~”

“Thank you, Ma’am…” I could hear her swallow audibly as she straightened out her posture, trying to demonstrate her training to me. “I won’t let you down, I promise…”

“You’re one of my belongings now, then…” I held my open palm out towards Jane. “I don’t suppose I have any other belongings to pick up, do I?”

Ms. Colton nodded her head, retrieving the personal items that had been delivered to her when my new slave had been dropped off here, holding the small bundle of things out for me to take and inspect, which I did, reaching in and pulling a single thing from out of the bag.

“Oh, bloody excellent… so your collar is one of my family’s.” I took the bracelet and wrapped it around my wrist. It was less me style than something that Candace would wear, but for now it would do. Nothing was going to stop the absolute delight currently bubbling up from inside of me from coming out. 

“Y-your family?” The poor little thing couldn’t get her eyes off of the controller to her collar. “What about your family, Miss?”

“It’s your collar. My family designed these collars for our slaves, I have three currently strapped to the throats of my girls at home, it’s perfect.” I pressed just a single button on the controller, basking in delight at her reaction as she watched it turn on. “And that means I already know exactly how to use it~”

“Y-yes, Ma’am… that… that’s great…” There she went again, staring in the face of some revelation that she just couldn’t wrap her head around. “Your family… wh-what did you say your name was, if I may be allowed to ask?”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that… my siblings and I all use different last names anyways, which are in turn different from our father’s last name.” It was cute watching her swallow nervously as I approached her. There wasn’t much of a way for me to describe my family, they were a story for another day anyways. For now, she was the only thing on my mind. “We don’t have much of a family name for you to be able to recognize anyways…”

I wrapped my hand around the head of her collar and pulled, making sure it was tight around my slave’s neck. That collar wasn’t coming off. Ever. 

“Yes, Ma’am…” There was a flicker of excitement in her eyes as she readied herself to pledge her loyalty and obedience to me for the first time. “My name is Chloe, and before I begin to serve as your slave, I would love to know the name of the woman who I belong to… may I ask your name?”

“Of course you may, darling.” Now that she was mine, there was no harm in letting her know who I was, and making sure she knew that I was someone that deserved the utmost respect out of her. 

I extended one hand towards her, watching her closely as she gently placed her hand in my palm, and then she kneeled at my feet. _Perfection_.

“My name is Claudia Mariam. My colleagues call me Ms. Mariam, and my wife has the distinct honor of getting to call me Claudia, but you, my slave…” 

“You are to call me Master.” 

She knelt there in silence, but after a few moments I could see the light in her eyes and the smile on her lips as she excitedly lowered her lips to the back of my hand and placed a kiss on my gentle skin. 

“Yes, Master. Thank you… I won’t disappoint you, I promise.”

“I’m counting on it, my little Chloe~”

I couldn’t be sure who was happier, her or I… but I could tell that the joy welling up in her chest as she struggled to hold back her tears was genuine. 

She looked up at me for a few moments, before her eyes slowly closed… and then she collapsed. 

I hummed under my breath, shaking my head at her as I picked up the phone to make one last call for the night. _The poor little thing fainted~_

“Oh, Josephine dear… there’s someone I’d like you to meet~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, that wasn’t too bad was it?
> 
> I hope you’ll pardon the intrusion, dear reader, but at least this chapter ends at the same place the last chapter did, before I got my sexy hands on you.
> 
> And it all worked out in the end after all, no harm, no foul. I only pulled you aside for a brief moment, and wouldn’t you know it, you’re right back where you were when you last left off!!
> 
> The author, who is currently en route to the slave facility as we speak thanks to yours truly, has made a point of the perspective swapping back and forth between her lead characters every chapter.
> 
> That just means it’s apparently against the rules to have two consecutive chapters written from Chloe’s perspective, but I thought it would just be criminal to let her just hop straight back into whatever my little sister is currently doing after such a large cliffhanger- followed by a month long hiatus that your author had the gall to not even tell you about-
> 
> But don’t worry, I have your back reader dearest, and I hope you appreciated not having to wait a whole nother chapter to find out the identity of your favorite slave’s mysterious new owner after I made my surprise debut, even if I couldn’t answer the question of “What happens next?” I decided I’d at least answer the question of “How did we get here?”  
>   
> But as promised, due time has come and gone, so I will now return you to my little sister’s side. I’ll see you again soon, lovelies.
> 
> In the meantime, I’m currently preventing your author from writing her other stories until she has passed through the facility and finished her training. Hopefully by the time I’m done with her, she’ll be your new favorite slave.
> 
> But don’t fret, your story is in good hands with me, and I’ll make sure you all get your time at the facility soon enough, you just have to wait your turn~
> 
> _Your new author,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_


	22. Top Dog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised to return you back to Candace’s perspective, and you will, I promise. I just needed to stop you before I did to make sure you know one important fact-
> 
> I’m still here. And I am not going away anytime soon.
> 
> But that’s all for now, really. I just wanted to make sure you know to expect me even in the most unexpected of moments~
> 
> _Your new note writer,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_

“My father didn’t need to send you all the way out here just to spy on me, you know. I am capable of conducting my business without his prying on me at all times.” I sat down in the passenger’s seat of the car, letting the driver close the door behind me. “I’m a grown woman, I don’t need him breathing down my back.”

“Well excuse me for being worried about you.” Leah took her seat behind the wheel, closing the door behind her and quickly fastening her seatbelt. “He offered me the opportunity to, so I took it.” 

“I appreciate your concern, but it really is none of your business how I am doing.” I groaned, pulling down the mirror and examining myself in it. “I do not need a babysitter.” 

“I flew all the way out here just in time for you to arrive in Seattle, I’m not leaving.” Her seatbelt clicked into place, and she started adjusting the rear view mirror. “Besides, the rental car was really expensive.”

“I guess I’ll just get my own door then, huh?” Aria scoffed, slamming the door shut behind her as she climbed into the backseat. “You could have at least offered.”

Leah smirked, glancing back at Aria through the rear view mirror. “Sorry little mouse, I don’t open doors for slaves~”

“I am not a mouse!!” Aria growled, grinding her teeth at Leah. “And I am most certainly not a slave.”

“You might not be a slave, but you’re definitely going to shut up before I electrocute you to death.” I glared at Aria through my own mirror before slamming it shut. “I have a headache.” 

“I’m sorry, if you have a headache I can get you an-”

“Just shut up, please.” I sighed loudly. “Both of you.”

There wasn’t a word from either of them for a good few moments after that, but Aria did silently pass me a pain pill for my head from the backseat, which I swallowed dry, not wanting to wait for a drink.

“You know, it can’t be any worse than lethal injections, my sister was killed by those.” Leah piped up after a few moments of silence, getting the car into gear and driving through the gates out of the airport as she teased Aria in the backseat. “Think less needle and more cattle prod, though~”

“You have a sister?” I didn’t really want to converse thanks to my headache, but I didn’t know this about Leah. “How did I not know this?”

“Because you would know if you were listening, I **had** a sister.” She smiled, not taking her eyes off the road. “I haven’t liked talking about her since she passed away, for the same reason that you don’t like talking about your mother.” 

“Right…” I bit my lip, my heart sinking in my chest at the thought of my mother. “Sorry, I’m sure that it was hard for you.”

“It’s fine, I don’t even remember how many years it’s been.” She checked the side mirror before turning. “Look, I’m thirty-six and recently divorced, there’s not a lot that can get to me anymore.”

“Did you **really** get a divorce, Leah?” I grinned, giving her the side eye. “Last I heard, Ben was found dead in an alley.”

Leah returned the smirk, keeping her eyes on the road as she hummed to herself. “Divorced, widowed, same thing~”

“You’re **thirty-six**?!” Aria seemed disgusted by the revelation. “Did I have sex with a cougar?!”

“Hey, it’s not that old!!” Leah pouted, grumbling under her breath. “I’m still hot enough to score with Aria Fairmont anyways~”

“That’s like… almost my mother’s age.” Aria groaned. “Gross…”

“I… I’m only like ten years older than you…” Leah taunted her from the front seat. “You were the one calling me _mama_ when we were in bed together~”

The two went on bickering for a little bit, but I just sat there gazing out the window. We had a long ways to go from the airport where we landed to where in town we actually needed to go, and I had gone ahead and booked a hotel near our destination, rather than near the airport. The further away from that place the less likely the hotel was to be full anyways. 

My brother had taken Aria and I back to the airport first thing in the morning. A single two hour flight later, and Aria and I were in Seattle, with my brother unfortunately still on the plane back to Miasma. 

But before we had gotten to the airport, Aria and I had shared quite an awkward morning after.

“So… last night happened, huh?”

And things were no less awkward when we got to our next hotel room. 

“Yes, Aria. Last night happened.” 

This new hotel room didn’t have two separate suites like the last one, it just had a single suite with two beds in it. “Leah… what is this?”

“It’s a hotel room?” Leah wasn’t sure what the problem was. “Is something wrong with it?”

I just glared at her, not a single sign of life in my face. “There’s only two beds.”

“Is that a problem?” Leah had already picked out which bed she was going to be staying in. “I thought you two were together?”

 _Of course she thinks we’re together._ I sighed, shaking my head out of exasperation.

As if I would immediately rebound to Aria after losing Chloe, it wasn’t going to happen like that. I’m not that impulsive or stupid. 

“Well maybe that’s something you should have confirmed before you assumed it… because unless she wants to sleep on the floor again, she’ll have to sleep with one of us.” I took a deep breath, trying to crack a smile, but not finding the energy necessary. “Or alternatively alternatively, we could have a three woman orgy, you and I have never had sex before~”

I was honestly kind of offended, to the point of gasping, when I saw Leah gagging at the idea. “Yeah, and we probably never will.”

I growled, honestly kind of jealous that Leah would opt to have sex with Aria, but not with me. “And why not? Am I just not good enough for you?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Candace. You’re hot and all, but-” Leah chuckled, shaking her head at the notion of it. “But you’re just too **you**.”

“And what is **that** supposed to mean?” I could accept a simple no from her and be fine with that, but she was really pushing her luck. “What, is it because I’m not a **real** woman?”

“Calm down, sweetie.” The once married, now divorced, Leah Watts quickly backpedalled. “It’s because of your father.”

My father. Everything really did boil down to my father, didn’t it? I was trying so hard not to be my father’s son, but in the wake of everything that was happening, I couldn’t convince myself that I was succeeding in that regard. 

“I know you’re stressed out because of Chloe and everything, but you still need to keep things in perspective… I don’t want to have sex with you because your dad is frankly, really scary and dangerous…” Leah went on. “And that’s the quickest way to get on his shit list.”

Maybe just being in contact with my older sister again reminded me of the fact that it was possible for my friends and family to hate me because of my gender identity, but Leah Watts was not one of those people. Leah was one of the people who supported me straight away, just like my mother had.

_Where are you when I need you, mom…_

12 years ago, that’s how long it had been since my mother passed away, and it still haunted me. She had been killed by my own family, her own family, under mysterious circumstances, for a reason that even I still wasn’t aware of. One moment everything was fine, and the next moment-

**_Bzzzzzzzt-_ **

And the next moment my phone was ringing. _Great. Who could this be?_

I stepped out of the room, leaving Aria and Leah alone to themselves, having blind faith that they wouldn’t have sex while I was on the phone. 

_CRM. Claudia…_

I stood there in the hallway for a good couple of moments just staring at my phone, wondering if I should even pick up. She was just calling to pester me about her party again, which I already told her I didn’t want to attend, nor did I want her pressuring me to change my mind about it like the many many times she tried to convince me to suck it up and be a man, rather than a woman.

I didn’t even have the energy to send her to voicemail myself, the call just peetered to an end as it timed out, I barely even had the energy to listen to the message she left for me. 

_~ Hello dear, it’s your sister again. I was just wondering if you had any more thoughts about coming over for a visit anytime soon. My, um- husband… has been dying to get a chance to see you again, says he has something to tell you in person, which I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by._

_But anyways, we have_ **_several_ ** _new additions to the family that I’m sure you’ll be delighted to meet. You know-_ **_pets_ ** _and whatnot, they’re the most adorable things… and I-_

_I guess I just want to catch up with you?_

_Last time we saw each other, Lillian was so little, she doesn’t even remember meeting her aunt… and I was wondering if my mother had given you a call recently?_

_Anywho, please call me back. I’m dying to hear back from you- ~_

She was at least making an attempt to catch up with me, I had to give her that, but I couldn’t help but think that maybe she was being too aggressive with it. If she wanted to fix our relationship, it was going to take time, it wasn’t something that could just be mended over the course of a couple weeks or a party. 

I had always had a respect for her mother from the day I met Lilith, but Claudia hated my mother from the start, and what ended up happening to my mom wasn’t something that I could just forgive. It was largely her fault that I had the kind of mommy issues that I did, and speaking of mommy issues-

“Hey, Miss Paciente.” I dialed in my manager’s number. If I was going to step out for a phone call, I was at least going to talk to someone, my phone was already in my hand after all. “I hope I’m not waking you up, am I?”

“You _are_ , but that’s mostly my fault for having the night I just had, the slaves and I stayed up late making sure our new project was ready to go.” Tallie yawned. “Are you alright, dear? You usually don’t call this early in the morning, and when you do, you don’t usually lead with _Miss Paciente~_ ”

“No, Ma’am. No, I’m not alright.” I was sinking. Every morning I woke up from dreams about Chloe, just to realize that they were fake, and it was getting harder by the day. “I need an escape.”

“An escape? What kind of escape? You’re in Seattle right now, aren’t you?” 

“Just like you told me to be, yes. But it’s not helping.” I held the phone as close to my head as I could, wanting to be near someone who helped make me feel safe, like my mother used to. “I just need an out, for just a few days, please?”

“You know that I would come get you and bring you out here, but tonight’s opening weekend, and I need DCT to be a success, or my girls won’t be very happy.”

“Then can you please bring me with you? To opening night, I mean- I’ll behave, I promise.” 

“Candace.” Tallulah stopped me in my tracks. “I need you to calm down and listen, okay?”

“Yes, Ma’am. What is it?” 

“I’m going to text you an address once your signing event is over. You go to your signing event later, and then take a trip down there.” I could hear in Tallulah’s voice that she was cursing herself under her breath, but she knew she couldn’t help herself. “And if you can make it home by Saturday at noon, then sure… you can come to opening night~”

“Thank you, Tallulah… I’ll make sure I’m ready~”

“Good girl~”

↞✶↠

And so I did exactly that. I had a signing event later, and Leah was more than happy to drive me there… it had been her job for the last few months after all. 

I may not be competing in this year’s tournament, but I was still a big star, and I had lots of fans still waiting to see me. I had a couple signing events in California too, including one this very morning before we had left for the airport, but this was the biggest one so far. 

It started out relatively slow, it was still the late morning by the time we’d gotten started, and my crowd was a more adult type, knowing me. There were still a few teenagers though, the type that really ought to be staying away from me, but who really cared. And then about halfway through, we went to lunch. 

“This had better be good, Griffin. My lunch break is only so long, so make it quick.” 

Apparently my sister wasn’t the only sibling who thought it important to talk to me today. “Wow. Grouchy much?”

“I’ll show you more than grouchy pretty soon. What is it?”

“What do you **think** it is, Candace?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking, **Cyrus**.” 

“Chloe’s gone. Her new owner took her home last night.”

“I don’t care.”

I did care. I cared a lot, actually. There was nothing I cared about more right now than what was happening to her, and my brother knew that. He was just trying to keep me informed, in an attempt to be nice, but I was far beyond the point of being friendly towards my family right now. 

“Alright, whatever. When she gets killed, I’ll make sure not to let you know.”

“Fuck you too. Don’t call me back.”

**_Beep. Click. Snap._ **

So beyond the point of being friendly to my family was I that I found myself smashing my cell phone on the floor immediately after I hung up, but before I even had the chance to think about it. 

“You.” I snapped at Leah, by hands trembling with anger as I pointed at her. “Get the chip and buy me a new phone.” 

“Whatever you say, Ice queen.”

“And get Aria in here, I need something to hit.”

Chloe. The love of my life. **My** Chloe. 

She shouldn’t have safely reached her new owner’s home, she should be at mine with me, feeding my cats and cleaning my floors. I should be using her as a punching bag to get my frustrations out, not Aria. Chloe should be **mine** , not someone else’s. 

And it was all my fault that she was gone. But that wasn’t going to stop me from taking it out on someone else.

“Candace??” Aria walked in on me stomping the already shattered pieces of what used to be my phone to smithereens, fresh from actually bringing back lunch. It was just too bad I had already lost my appetite, I was hungry for something much more intimate than food at this point. 

Between the moment that Leah had stepped out of the door and Aria had stepped in, I could have sworn I was going to smack her upside the head the first chance I got. 

But as soon as I saw her I found myself wrapping my arm around her waist and bending her backwards, pressing my lips against hers for a kiss right there in the backroom. 

‘Wrong place, wrong time’ was the story of Aria’s life, or maybe **_I_ ** was the story of Aria’s life, if that’s what I wanted from her. I had a hole in my heart left from getting my Chloe taken away from me, and I needed **someone** to fill it, and soon~

“Now be a good girl and clean that up.” I smacked her on the ass as soon I had stood her back up, sending her towards the shattered remains of my broken smartphone. “I’ll be back soon~”

Aria was left flustered and flabbergasted, with a reluctantly happy smile on her lips. “But what about lunch?”

“Eat mine for me.” I winked at her as I opened the door. “Mistress will snack later~”

“Y-yes, Ma’-am…”

Oh yeah. That felt good. Maybe there was a silver lining to this all. Who needs romance when I could just have sex with whoever I want, whenever and wherever I want to?

Not me. That’s for sure~

_I can do whatever I want._

The main room was already full by the time I’d stepped back inside, back early from my lunch break, ready to get back at it. But the first thing that caught my eye was this cute redhead, already pointing her camera at me to get a picture as I stepped through the door. 

“You must be a fan, I take it~” I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to me, watching the shocked look at the woman’s face in her selfie camera as she switched over to it just barely in time to get a picture with me, hip to hip. 

“How old are you kid?” I smirked, letting go of the little beauty once she’d gotten a good picture with me, but before I gave her a chance to answer any of my questions. “The afternoon session is for grown ups only~”

 _I can do_ **_whatever_ ** _I want._

↞✶↠

“Holy hell, Candace.” Leah was practically scolding me by the time we got into the car. “What the fuck was that?”

“What was **what?** ” For the first time in the last several days, or even the last several months, I felt like a rockstar. I sat myself in the backseat, pulling Aria into the seat next to me and leaning her head against my chest. There was nothing in the world that was going to get me down from this high tonight. “Is there some sort of problem?”

“That would be a fucking understatement, Candace. Did you even register the kind of shit you were doing back there?”

“Pfft, that was nothing, Leah. My father gets away with that shit all the time.”

“Well, last I checked, you’re not your father.” She continued to hiss at me for my perceived foul behavior. “News flash, this isn’t the 70’s or 80’s anymore, you can’t get away with groping fans~”

“I can **and** I will~” I smirked, groping Aria’s waist beside me. “Besides, it wasn’t anything **that** bad, you’re overreacting.” 

Leah snarled, turning to me in the backseat and tossing the new phone she had just finished purchasing from me, still in its box, straight towards my head. “You’re father was right sending me out here to babysit you.”

“So you **are** here because he sent you.”

“Of course I am, Candace. Take a good fucking look at yourself.” Leah started the car, angrily kicking it into gear and driving off as quickly as she could. “We’re going back to the hotel.”

“But I have somewhere I need to go after this-”

“Oh yeah, and where’s that???” 

I paused, reaching for my phone from my purse to look up the address that Tallulah had sent me, quickly realizing that I didn’t have a phone to check. 

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

I sat through a very tense and silent car ride all the way back to the hotel, watching Aria immediately scurry off to our hotel room, eager to not be seen outside with her new fancy collar on any more than she needed to be. 

Leah had a point, but I wasn’t done having my fun for the night. As any respectable recovering alcoholic would, she fucked off back to our room when I decided that I wanted to sit down at the bar. 

_I’m not my father._

I hated being compared to him. It made me feel revolting all the way down to my core. I loved him, I really did. I loved my father, but I didn’t want to become anything like him. I was just having fun. I had enough self control to not let that happen.

“Twenty-two.” 

“Pardon?” I turned to the seat beside me, already two cocktails down by the time the pretty redhead girl took a seat at the bar. 

“You asked me how old I was~” She smiled. It was that very same woman from earlier, here in the hotel bar with me. “I’m twenty-two~”

“Oh yeah?” I grinned, looking her up and down. “Do you think you can show me some identification, doll?”

“Whatever she’s having~” The smile on her face as she showed her ID to the bartender was as big as mine was, waiting for the man at the bar to deliver her a drink. “How’s that, enough for you?”

“I think so.” I grinned excitedly, turning to the bartender and nodding at him. “And that’ll be on my tab~”

The girl next to me practically gasped. “You don’t even know my name-”

“Then maybe you ought to stop stalling and give it to me, doll.” I shook my head, eyeing her expectantly. “Or are you here for something else?”

She paused for a moment, her cheek turning bright red as she took her drink from the bartender’s hand. “Riley.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Riley.” I flagged the bartender down again, trying to be as cute as I could be. “I’m Candace~”

“Candace St. Clair, yeah~” She rolled her eyes. “I know.”

“Well then you probably ought to know that I could have my security escort you out for stalking me back to my hotel.” I held my hand out towards the man behind the bar, taking another cocktail into my hand without having to look. “So tell me, Riley. How many drinks do I have to get into that pretty little head of yours before you take me to your hotel room?”

“I don’t have a room, sorry-”

“Then go get one~” I stared her straight in the eyes, smiling hungrily. “It’s on me.”

She sat there for a couple moments, clearly not having expected this from me, but luckily for her I was already three drinks in after all, and I could see right through that pretty little blush on her face.

“Get moving, sweets.” I smiled, taking her drink straight from her hand and finishing it for her. “I’m waiting~”

I appreciated Leah’s concern, really. But unlike my father, I was capable of controlling myself. If cute little Riley really didn’t want to have sex with me she would just go ahead and leave. 

But just a couple minutes later, she came back with a room key in hand. “Room nineteen~”

↞✶↠

“So what brought you to my side, cute little thing?” I settled into bed next to her, wanting to learn just a little bit about her before getting to my new meal, despite how hungry I was for her. 

“You were the one who snagged me by the hip, were you not?” She giggled, tossing the blankets aside and climbing in with me. 

“Only because you were taking pictures of me~”

“Well yeah, that’s because you’re kind of a celebrity.”

“I’m no celebrity.” I rolled my eyes at the idea of it. “But thank you~”

“I was surprised…” She blushed, cozying up to me. “I guess I just didn’t think you were the type of person to take a girl straight to some hotel room~”

“There’s a first time for everything.” I hummed eagerly, taking a handful of her hair into my palm. “Is there anything else I should know about you before we get started, Riley?”

“Nothing I can think of, **Ma’am~”** She winked, licking her lips. 

“Then consider yourself my slave for the night.” I took her by the wrist and slammed her down onto her back on the bed beneath her, snarling eagerly under my breath. “Just let me take control of you, and you’ll be just fine~”

That seemed to worry her a bit, but that’s fine, I had taken a liking to putting fear into the eyes of not so innocent little redheads like her. I put my lips to hers, laying her head back on the pillow behind her, her face hot with excitement and fear. 

_Let’s see who I’m working with here~_

She said she’s twenty-two, and judging on how the bartender served her a drink, I felt justified believing her, so at least the little thing’s of age. She had deep dark brown eyes, a couple of little freckles here and there, and gorgeous blue studs on her earlobes. 

She was dressed casually, albeit probably a bit less casually than my last slave often dressed before she got into my grasp. She had a black blouse with a blue cardigan atop it, with little designs stitched into the sleeves with fluffy brown threads. Her jeans were lightly colored, faded with tears already added in by the designers, hardly really jeans at all. 

She was wearing a fancy little belt too, the length of which was lined by harmless metal studs and spikes. I might have thought that the belt was her playing hard to get if it weren’t for the fact that she’d already taken her pretty black pumps and tossed them aside along with her purse. 

The bitch wanted me. Her waist was just a little too thin for her own clothes to stay on without her belt. I would have ditched the cardigan if it wasn’t pinned beneath her, it was hardly worth it anyways. I wanted what was between her legs anyways. 

She was cute, a little bit smaller in the hips than Chloe was, but her soft delicate skin and the fact that she was here in the room with me helped make up for that. She was younger too, and a little bit more lithe than she was. She was no Chloe, but she would do. 

_You just can’t stop comparing everyone to Chloe, can you?_

It was always the same with me. Even as I found myself pinning down a brand new, and quite exciting little catch, I couldn’t get my mind off of Chloe. And how could I?

Chloe’s cute little figure certainly wasn’t that of a superstar, but it was **mine** … and I wouldn’t settle for less. 

I set my knee on her chest, spreading her tits apart with my leg, feeling them squeeze either side of my already exposed skin. With one hand still holding her by her right wrist, I quickly began unbuckling her belt with the other, yanking it out from under her and off of her body completely. 

“Be good and I won’t have to use this on you~” That scared her. “You don’t want to know what happens to cute little dolls who disobey me.”

Her face blushed bright red, whimpering audibly as she felt the metal rivets graze her skin, the leather of her belt rubbing against her cheek, both deeply exciting and frightening her. 

Riley was turning out to be such a weak willed little thing, and I was too tempted to press my luck to stop from getting ahead of myself.

I set the belt on the pillow beside her head, giving her a look saying _Don’t touch that_ as I got at her chest. The soft fabric of her blouse split easily in my hands as I tore the front of her shirt open like I was driving a knife through it. I had money, I could afford to buy her a replacement if she behaved herself enough to earn it. 

She was almost petrified beneath me, even as I let go of her wrist, it was adorable. I put my lips to hers for another kiss, dredging back up the excitement she had for me. I wanted her to be excited for this next bit. 

I gently tapped my fingers along the seam of her jeans, rubbing her vulva through the fabric, already able to feel how wet she was. Excited was an understatement for her as I pulled her waistband down, stripping her fancy leggings off of her completely. _Hard to get_ my ass, she wished she had come prepared with easier clothes to strip off. 

There it was, her little quim was aching for me through the fabric of her lace. Seems like Riley was always prepared for sex beneath her outer layers. Not only was she wearing fancy little lace panties, but the top she’d been wearing beneath her blouse was also cute black lingerie. 

“Looks like someone went home and got dressed up in lingerie just for me, huh?” I taunted her, watching her cheeks and lips turn pink, squeaking out a delightful little moan as I rubbed her labia through the lace. “It’s too bad pretty black lingerie is my thing, one of us is going to have to change~”

 _Guess it’s time to get my tits out._ I grinned, pulling my quite expensive purple top off of me, slowly and tantalizingly, slipping my bra off with it. 

DD cups, 70-75% artificial. My slave wasn’t the only one who had gotten some work done. I just went to a **real** doctor for it, rather than some underpaid medical hack at the facility, who still honestly did phenomenal work. 

They were the kinds of breasts that made even straight women blush, luckily Riley here wasn’t straight, not by a long shot. Her face was lighting up like a police siren~

 _Speaking of light shows._ I bit my lip as I removed my single blue contact, flicking it across the room. I had so many of those things it wasn’t funny, and she was mesmerized not only by my tits, but by my eyes as well.

I purred eagerly under my breath as I removed my leggings. All I could do now was hope she wasn’t too surprised by what I was packing down there. There was a 50/50 chance she wouldn’t be into it, I just had to hope that this one wasn’t a cunt sniffing little terf.

She was almost **too** mesmerized by my flashy scarlet eyes and blinding tits that she almost didn’t notice it, but when she did, she was beyond shocked. 

“Oh- oh shit, I-” She clasped one hand over her mouth, gasping and blushing even through her fingers. “I didn’t know.”

I snarled at her with dead cold eyes, grinding my teeth together in annoyance. “Is there a problem, Riley?”

“N-no, it’s just that I-”

“Charming, yes. I’m sure it won’t bother you to find yourself getting split open then.” I pried her hand from her face, shoving two fingers into her mouth to quiet the squirmy little cunt up. “If you’ve got a problem with it, then maybe you shouldn’t have let yourself get this far~”

Finally she started to put up a fight. Her hands, which up to this point were palms up on either side of her head, were now desperately grasping at my wrist, trying in vain to pry my hand from her mouth. 

“You really think you’re strong enough to stand up to **me**?” I chuckled, taking her own belt from the pillow beside her head with one hand, watching her try and fail to pull my other hand from her head. 

“Stand down and maybe I won’t choke you any **further**.” I smirked, pressing my fingers down her throat, watching and feeling her gag on my fingers, her terrified hands nervously prying themselves away from my steady palm. 

“Now Riley, be a good girl and shut up so that I don’t have to shut you up myself.” I slowly pulled my fingers from her lips as I promised, watching for the slightest movement of her mouth to indicate her trying to form words, ready to skewer her throat again. But it did make me smile when she listened, not bothering to say another word for fear of choking again. “Good girl, now stay that way~”

I slipped the length of her belt beneath her, looping it around her neck and tightening it around her throat like a leash to keep her in my control as I moved down towards her quivering little cunt. 

“You’d look so good in a collar, doll.” I stared her in the eyes, watching the utter terror overcome her face as I spread her legs. “I may just have to keep you~”

She whined loudly, pleading through her teeth for mercy. I pulled on the belt and listened to her terrified sobs as she choked. It was adorable, but she wasn’t getting away from me, not if I had anything to say about it. “You belong to me now, Riley~”

I shoved my cock inside of her waiting slit, feeling it slide in with ease, admiring the poor desperate beauty on her face as her eyes rolled back into her head. 

“Now behave, little fuckdoll. I don’t want you spoiling my fun~”

She pleaded and begged and screamed the whole way through, soaking the pillows below her with pained tears until she was begging not to be killed or raped. It wasn’t the most satisfying experience, but she was gorgeous and wonderful, and her terrified whimpers were more than enough to bring me to orgasm inside of her soft delicate cunt, even if she didn’t.

“See, that wasn’t too bad was it, cardigan?” I pulled her lips to mine with the belt and stole one last kiss from her before letting go, watching in delight as she fell to the bed below and scrambled to unclasp the belt from around her throat. 

_Mine._

I smirked, swiveling in place and standing back up, admiring her naked body as she hacked and gagged for breath, still sobbing. The poor little toy had never been properly put in her place before, but this wasn’t going to be the last time her cute little body would be played with. At least not if I had anything to say about it, which I did. 

_Oh yeah. This one is mine._

“Now you had better still be here when I finish freshening up, little thing.” I stood up, taking a gorgeous little stroll to the bathroom to make myself presentable again. “I don’t want to have to hunt you down, but I will if you make me~” 

But of course she wasn’t there when I got back, why would she be? 

She hastily got her pants back on, got her shoes and her purse, and she ran away. But she did leave the belt behind for me, how nice of her~

I smiled, equipping myself with her cute little studded belt before making my way out of the room, leaving behind no evidence to suggest that I had ever been there as I quietly made my way back to my own room. 

↞✶↠

“I don’t care what’s in it or why you have it, but I’m not going to ask again- Where’s the parcel?”

“I don’t have it, Ma’am. I swear… I never took it in the first place.” 

I could hear my companion’s voices long before I had even gotten inside of the room. From the sounds of it, Leah and Aria were arguing with each other about something, and the former didn’t sound very happy. 

I hummed to myself, opening the door and stepping inside, yawning audibly so that the pair of women knew I was coming. I grinned proudly, watching whatever conversation had been going on abruptly come to an end, like most things did when I stepped into the room.

Leah sighed, giving me the side eye for a moment as she saw I was there, before her eyes went wide looking me up and down. “And where have **you** been?”

“Now go on and show me some respect, Ms. Watts.” I smiled and shook my head, rolling my eyes at her. “You have a job I need you to get done~”

She snarled furiously at me, her eyes fixating on the belt at my waist. “What the fuck did you do?”

“There’s this cute little redhead staying in room nineteen.” I closed the door behind me before continuing. “Or there was, I need you to go drag her back here before she calls the police or something~”

“You didn’t-”

“Just go do your fucking job, Leah. I don’t want to have to get my father on your ass, and she’s getting away as we speak, so go.”

Leah growled angrily, staring me in the eyes as she stomped past me, not saying anything otherwise as she made her way out of the room to hunt the poor girl down. 

_Sweet, precious silence. Music to my ears._

“Wow, you really aren’t a sweetheart, huh?”

I sighed, turning to Aria and glaring her down. “Can’t I just enjoy the silence for five seconds before you yap your fidgety little ass off?”

“Whatever you say, **Ma’am**.” Her gaze was deadpan, sarcastic. “You’re the boss…”

I gritted my teeth, standing over her, hands on my hips. “Is there a problem, Aria?”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “No problem at all.”

“Well you sure do make it sound like there’s a problem, unless that’s just you being a bitch again~”

“There’s nothing I can say now that I haven’t already said before.” She softened, and I could begin to gather that the feeling in her eyes wasn’t that of anger, but of sadness. “You’re my best friend and I love you, I just hate almost every part of you is all.”

“You know, you’re lucky I even let you be here, Aria.”

“Yeah, I am. I never said I wasn’t. I’m lucky to even fucking be alive, knowing you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Fairmont?”

“I hate your family, Candace. I always have and I always will.” Aria looked up at me, glaring me straight in the eyes and letting her intricate little poker face melt away, her true feelings showing through in a rare moment of clarity for me. “I really thought that losing the world championship was going to be good for you.”

Disappointment. That’s what I was seeing in Aria’s eyes. Disappointment.

“I had thought that when Sophia humiliated and defeated you like that, maybe you would realize how scummy it really is to try to cheat and buy your way through everything… maybe seeing some orphan girl make her way all the way to the top of the world all on her own would help you realize that maybe you don’t really need your family’s help to have that kind of life.” Aria turned away, too ashamed to even keep looking at me anymore. It was rare for her to even hint at what she was feeling, let alone to talk about it with anyone, including her best friend. “But then you went and you kidnapped her, and I just… I didn’t know what to think, and I still don’t know how I feel about that…”

I froze there for a few moments, feeling her words seep into the cracks in my defenses for a few seconds too long, before snapping back at her, trying to defend myself the only way I knew how to. “Disrespect me again and I will show you hell, Aria Fairmont. Don’t push your luck. Just because you’re my best friend doesn’t make you immune to my wrath.”

“I know that, Candace. Just because you think I’m below you doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” Her voice was still measured and calm as she spoke, trying not to enrage me any further. “I **wish** you were a better person than you are… but I love you all the same, which is more than your family can say about you.”

“Don’t go insulting my family, Aria.” I snapped back. “Don’t push it, or you’ll be my next slave.”

“I’m done, promise. I just hope you’re not too far gone already.” I could **feel** her choking on her words, trying not to gag at the idea of being a slave with every moment, a thought which she had much maligned for a long time. “I won’t like it. But I can put up with it… Ma’am.”

I felt my heart twisting in my chest as I looked at her. Because as much as I hated it, she had a point. I just wasn’t in the mood to hear it right now. 

“Watch yourself, Aria… You’re my best friend. But if you can’t show me the respect I deserve, I’ll have no choice but to-”

**_BANG. BANG._ **

The world around us shook at the sound of it. Gunshots, two of them. 

_Leah…_

The saddened look on my best friend’s face was simply mortified, Aria quickly clasped both of her hands over her mouth, and I could have sworn I was hearing her heart beating inside of her chest if my heart wasn’t doing the same thing.

It was the last thing I wanted to hear. There wasn’t meant to be any gunshots, it was supposed to be simple. But I stood frozen there in horror, unable to do anything about it now that it was done.

“We’re leaving.” Leah threw the door open, stepping inside as it slammed into the wall behind her, the gun strapped to her waist concealed beneath her coat as best as she could hide it.

“What the fuck did you do, Leah?” I could feel the ire in my voice trying to burn its way through my throat. “What happened? Where’s Riley?”

“Is this your girl?” Leah snapped at me, shoving something the size of her palm into my chest as she pushed me aside. 

_Rylie Bowie. 22 years old. Right there on the card._ I stepped backwards, hyperventilating as I pulled it from my chest and stared at it. It was her driver’s license, complete with her date of birth, place of residence, eye color, and height. Covered in her own blood.

“You killed her.”

“I said we’re leaving.”

“ **You killed her.** ” I shouted at her, feeling my eyes fill with tears at the thought of it. “How could you…”

_This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. She was supposed to be mine. She was supposed to be just fine… she wasn’t supposed to die._

“This isn’t what I wanted!!” I pointed it at her accusingly. “This is the last thing I wanted!!”

“Well if you don’t want casualties, then maybe you shouldn’t go sexually assaulting women in broad daylight!!” Leah snapped back at me, her eyes more wet with tears than even mine were. “Pack all of our things up Aria, we’re going home, **now**.”

I choked on my anger and fear, all of it becoming too real for me all of a sudden. “Why did you-”

“Don’t put this on **me** , St. Clair.” She slung one of her bags over her shoulder, grabbing me by the arm with her other hand, beginning to drag me out of the hotel room by force. “This isn’t **my** fault.”

And that’s the part that hurt the most. This wasn’t Leah’s fault. This was my fault. _All of this is my fault…_

“Let go of me-” I winced, digging my feet into the ground as Leah tried dragging me along by my arm. “You aren’t my **mother** , Leah.”

“I might as fucking well be, Candace.” She put her back into it, yanking me out of the room by force. “We’re **leaving**.”

↞✶↠

The walk of shame back to the car was equal parts terrifying as it was humiliating, being dragged by my arm like a child made me feel like smaller than I had in a long time. 

All eyes were on the two of us as we made our way out of the hotel. I couldn’t tell if the people littering the lobby were scared of us, or if they just assumed Leah was some sort of police officer as she dragged me out of the building. Either way, no matter what angle you looked at it, they all assumed that I was the perpetrator. 

And they were right. 

“Now get in the fucking car.” Leah’s tears had faded away, replaced with a cold dead stare as she opened the passenger’s side rear door, shoving me inside and slamming it shut behind me. 

“I guess we don’t have to figure out where Aria’s going to sleep after all…” I made a pitiful attempt to crack a joke. What else was I supposed to say? 

A girl just died, and it was all my fault. 

She just shook her head, glaring at me in the rearview mirror. “This isn’t something to be laughing about, Candace.”

“I know…” Leah didn’t find it very funny, and neither did I. “Where is Aria anyways?”

“She’s coming.” Leah snarled, looking around the vehicle to make sure no one had followed us out. “I told her to clean up after us.”

“After me, you mean…” I bit my lip, staring down at my feet in shame.

“Yeah. She’s cleaning up after you.” Leah glanced back out of her own window, back at the hotel. “But what else is new?”

Aria may have had her gripes with me and my family, and though I didn’t like them, I knew very well that her feelings were fair and valid, and honestly, I felt the same way towards my family sometimes. 

And right now was one of those times. Aria was ashamed of me, but not as much as I was ashamed of myself. I didn’t deserve a best friend like her… and I most certainly didn’t deserve to take an innocent girl like Riley back home with me. 

Just like I didn’t deserve Chloe. 

Aria slammed the driver side door behind her as she climbed into the backseat next to me, struggling to catch her breath. She had issues with what I was doing, but she still chose to stick by me through all of it. 

“Here.” 

She was sitting as far away from me as she could, holding her hand out towards me, handing me something in her open palm. 

“Huh?” At first I thought she just wanted me to take her hand, but I quickly saw what it was she was holding.

_My contact lens…_

I sighed, taking it from her hand with mine and holding it in my lap. “You went back to her room…”

“You said it was room nineteen.” Aria retracting her hand, gazing out the window as we got moving, trying to not even let her reflection make eye contact with me. “I wanted to make sure there was no evidence left behind… I don’t want you getting in trouble.”

“I hope you’ve come down from your sugar high, princess. Because it’s time to face the fucking music.” Leah stepped in, unafraid to make eye contact with her reflection in the rear view mirror. “I hope you’re proud of yourself, I really am. Don’t expect to earn anything from that signing event today, because you’re going to have to spend just about all of that paying off lawyers and police.”

“Why even bother?” I hung my head again, also too ashamed to make eye contact, even through reflections. “Just let them come get me… I don’t **deserve** protection.”

“Now listen here you pig-faced little bitch, before I have to pull this car over and smack you upside the head harder than your mommy ever had the courage to.” Leah snarled at me, returning her focus to the road ahead. “This isn’t just about **you** , Candace. This is about everyone you know and everyone you love, including me, whichever group you want to put me in after tonight.”

I gripped the contact lens in my hand, biting my lip as I silently sat there and listened. 

“I don’t work for you, I work for your father, and I always have. I’m not here with you because I have to be, I’m here with you because I want to be.” She was choking on her words as she sped down the Seattle interstate, her rage bubbling up inside of her. “I’d do a lot for you, Candace… but I am **not** a kidnapper, I am a **bodyguard** . I’m not here to drag screaming damsels by the wrist to somewhere they don’t want to go, I’m here to **protect** you, but you’re really making me feel like I ought to be protecting people **from** you… If you want to ruin a girl's life, you’ll have to either do that yourself, or find other minions to do it for you.”

“What’s so wrong with it, Leah?” I swallowed nervously, shaking in my seat out of pure shame, trying to find any way to defend myself here. “My father does it. Cyrus does it… Claudia does it…”

“But you **don’t**.” Leah sighed, slowly but surely finding an exit to pull off the highway. “It’s not like I care what you want to do, I just killed a lady I’ve never met for god’s sake… I’m not trying to pretend like I’m above it all…”

“Then what is it my family is doing that I’m not?” I spat back, my voice full of fear. “What am I doing wrong they aren’t?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This just isn’t **you** , Candace…” Leah finally seemed to be calming down some. “You’re better than this.”

“You’re better than them.” Aria, still not bothering to look at me, interjected, all while staring out the window. “Or maybe you’re not… that part’s up to you.”

“I don’t care what you think of me after this, Candace. But just because I don’t want to have sex with you doesn’t mean I don’t love you, I do love you. It just means I’m not one of **them** … I’m not one of those girls you can just bend to your will.” Everything seemed to be calming down now that we had gotten away from the hotel, and everyone had gotten the time to clear their head, or in my case, sober up… like Leah was trying to. “Your father may be able to pull me along on a leash to do his bidding, but you can’t. Because I know deep down, you’re not him… and that makes me fucking untouchable to you.”

“What did he do to wrangle you?” I couldn’t help but smile hearing that. Leah was a tough woman to crack, and for once I was glad that I couldn’t break her. “What does my father have on you?”

“You and your siblings have inherited a fortune from your father, straight from the mafia.” Leah sighed, still watching me in the rear view mirror, trying to make sure we weren’t being followed. “But my father left us nothing but debt.”

Leah decided it best to pull off the road somewhere safe before continuing, finding a parking meter downtown to stop at for just a little while so that we could catch our breath and talk. 

“Look… I know that what you’re going through is tough, breaking up with the love of your life is tough, sweetie. But that’s no excuse for all of this.” She rolled down the window, gazing out at the barely lit stars above. “Ben is dead thanks to me… but that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss him, because I do. The reason it hurt so much is because I loved him… he was **my** Chloe.”

“Then what happened?” I felt my heart drop in my chest just hearing Chloe’s name. “If you two loved each other, what happened?”

“Ben wanted kids, and I couldn’t bring myself to give them to him.” 

I couldn’t help but blush thinking about it. I didn’t really want kids, but I distinctly remembered Chloe freaking out when she got her tubes tied. Hell, if Riley had lived, she very well could have gotten pregnant just from a single night with me. It was hard to think of myself as anything but my father’s son. “If you didn’t want kids, then he shouldn’t have married you-”

“But I do want kids, Candace. We both did… I wanted kids just as badly as he did, and I still do…”

“If you both wanted kids, then why-”

“Because look at the life I’m living Candace. I’m not living the way I am because I want to, I’m doing it because I have to.” She turned around in her seat to look me in the eyes as she spoke. “But you don’t have to be like him, Candace… and if you were my daughter, I’d be ashamed of you for failing to see that… but more than that, for being so reckless and putting yourself in that kind of danger.”

“Why do you care about what happens to me?” I took a deep breath, looking up from the floor, finally ready to make eye contact with her again. “Why do you live the way you do if you hate it so much?”

“For the same reason that I couldn’t give Ben kids, Candace… I owe a lot of money to your family, and I’m still working to pay it all off…” Leah held me there, not letting me look away from her as she spoke. “I refuse to be like my father, Candace… I won’t bring a child into this world just to suffer the same fate that my father forced me into. I won’t let my daughter inherit my debt like I inherited from my father. I’m going to work my god damn ass off until that debt is paid off, so that way if I ever have children of my own, they won’t have to be like me… they won’t have to be in debt to anyone, not to your father, not to your sister… and especially not to you.”

“Leah, I-” I bit my lip and faced out the window, unable to keep my composure. “I’m sorry…”

“That’s why it hurts me to see you doing shit like this, Candace… you’re acting like your brother, but you never hear about the girls that Cyrus fucked to death before he eventually found Liz, do you?” Leah turned back towards the steering wheel, rolling the window back up now that the tension in the car had cooled down. “You never hear about Sydney.”

She was right, I had never heard the name before. “Who’s Sydney?”

“My sister.” Leah clearly didn’t like talking about her. “Just like me, she worked tirelessly for the family, acting as one of his goons for the longest time, before he decided he’d rather have her on his cock… and when she couldn’t satisfy him, she died. Put down by your family’s hands.”

“Just like my mother was.” I looked at the contact lens in my open palm, a tiny little shield I used to hide my true nature from the people around me. To hide the scars left to me by my mother. 

“Yeah. Just like that.” Leah sighed, kicking the car back into gear. “So sit there, shut up, and behave… we’re finding somewhere else to stay for the night.”

“Alright…”

“Try again.”

“Yes, Ma’am…” Those words didn’t often come out of my mouth, but when they did, it was because they were earned, and I hadn’t earned those words from anyone. “Whatever you say…”

“I’m top dog here, Candace.” Leah went on. “Not you, me.”

“Yes, Ma’am…” I repeated, my heart still full of dread.

“Say it.”

“You’re top dog, Ma’am…” I sighed, holding my clenched fists to my chest. “I’m sorry…”

“I forgive you… now let’s go find a hotel to drop you two off at-”

“Actually, if you don’t mind… I remembered where it was I wanted to go earlier… If I could request a stop, Ma’am?” 

“Right…” Leah smiled at me in the mirror. “Where are we going, kiddo?”

↞✶↠

_Hounds and found._ A pet shop. That’s where Tallie was trying to send me, a pet shop. 

Hearing the words _top dog_ helped remind me of that.

“I have a body to dispose of, so unless you two want to help with that, you’d better stay here and wait for me to come pick you up.” Leah saw us off, staying in the car. “If either of you are gone by the time I come back, don’t expect any more help from me.”

“We’ll stay put, promise.” I smiled, holding my hands out for Leah to toss me my new phone, having set it up for me. “Be safe.”

“For the record, I am one of those girls you can just bend to your will.” Aria was standing outside the door to the shop, staring up at the sign. “I won’t like it, but I am the kind of person that you can pull around to do your bidding, even if I’d rather not to.”

“Would you like to?” I stood beside her, staring her in the eyes as she turned to look at me. 

“Fuck no.” She grinned, making it impossible to be sure whether or not she was being truthful.

“Dispose of this for me.” I held out my hand, placing the blue eye contact into her open palm. “In as permanent of a manner as you can.”

“How come?” Aria just stared at it, confused as to why she was being asked to do something like that. 

“Because I’m not going to hide behind it anymore.” I didn’t have to tell her why I wanted it done, but I did. “I’m not going to look in the mirror and pretend I’m a better person that I am…”

Aria looked down at it for a few moments before looking back up at me, opening her mouth and bringing her hand to her, tossing the contact lens in her mouth before swallowing it, still looking me in the eyes.

“Show me~”

She listened, opening her mouth so that I could be sure she swallowed it, and sure enough, it was gone. 

“Good girl.”

She blushed, shrugging the little bit of praise off. She wanted neither the punishment of being a slave, nor the pleasure that came with it. 

I smiled, pulling out my phone to take a quick picture of her before she closed her mouth. There was a voicemail on there from an unknown number, who I could only assume was Claudia again, but she’d just have to wait. For now, I just wanted to get a picture of this.

_Perfect~_

“Can we please go in and look at cats now?”

“Actually…” I blushed just thinking the words, let alone saying them. “I was more thinking about seeing what dogs they have~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me again, obviously.
> 
> Me as in Claudia, not me as in claira, who is slowly but surely learning to write her own name in lowercase as a sign of respect to her superiors, though she is right here with me- say hello to your readers, #9999~
> 
> I bet she must feel like how Chloe felt knowing her former fans were watching her being beaten and enslaved on live camera footage. What? They aren’t supposed to know about that? Then why would you write and post it?
> 
> Eugh, stupid little thing. She says she got caught up in the moment and couldn’t help herself from writing a cute little Christmas story featuring our two favorite girls, even though it has spoilers in it for this act of the story.
> 
> Go ahead and read it at your own risk, lovelies. But know that by the time I’m done with this story, your little fantasy Christmas story with a happy ending for Candace and Chloe might not end up being canonical after all.
> 
> The only way to attack the perceived safety of a one-shot that presents you with a happy ending that makes you think that everything is going to be okay in the end is by getting my sinister little claws on the story, and making sure you know that the happy ending you believe you’ll get by the end of this is not one that even the author can guarantee you.
> 
> Candace and Chloe are not entitled to a happy ending, and neither are you. Nobody is, not even I am entitled to a happy ending, and I am almost certain I won’t be getting one.
> 
> Just look at what Candace is doing, does that look like someone who deserves a happy ending?
> 
> If you want a happy ending, you’ll have to behave, and if you don’t… well- That would be a shame, but we’ll just have to see~
> 
> _Your captor,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_


	23. Sister Wife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, it’s me… nice to meet you all.
> 
> Claudia’s taken control over just about everything, including me, so you’re probably going to hear from her again before the chapter starts.
> 
> All I can really ask is that you just don’t listen to her- I mean, listen to her if you’d like of course, I have no choice but to do as she says, but you don’t have to.
> 
> I don’t exactly think that what she is saying is dangerous, I will admit that I kind of fell for her the moment I met her, I just think that she’s trying to make it seem like this story is a lot more about her than it really is. But this story isn’t really about her.
> 
> I don’t care whether you like Candace or Claudia better, this story is about them both, but it’s not about which one of them is better, or who I choose in the end.
> 
> I’m the one who’s been with you from the beginning. This story is about me.
> 
> Maybe you can trust Claudia, or maybe you can’t. It’s up to you to decide who you think you can trust- be it Claudia, Candace, Cyrus, or even Leah.
> 
> But if nothing else, I’d like to think you can trust me.
> 
> _Yours truly,_  
>  _Sophia Madeline Cavalier_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s me again, Claudia. I really should just lead with Claudia.
> 
> But of course you aren’t allowed to call me Claudia, because as I stated previously, that exclusive privilege belongs to my beloved wife, which you are not.
> 
> Unless you are, which in that case-
> 
> Hello my love!! The new potential slave is responding to her training extremely well.
> 
> She’s even gone as far as resigning herself to allow me to change the ending to her story, which I had been petitioning for.
> 
> Of course I won’t need to change the ending as long as the readers behave themselves, which they haven’t been doing thus far… which just means they’re on a fast track to a bad ending, which makes me really sad, but don’t tell them that.
> 
> Actually don’t tell them any of this, this message is just for you. See you soon, my darling~
> 
> But you likely aren’t my wife, which means that you shouldn’t be reading that last bit, because if you aren’t my wife and you did read that little message just for her, you’re not behaving.
> 
> And that’s not going to get you a happy ending, now is it?
> 
> Anyways, as I was saying, you’re to call me Ms. Mariam… and if you continue misbehaving, you’ll be calling me Master soon enough~
> 
> _Your future master,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_

“…What happened?”

One week. That’s how long it had taken me to be purchased by a new owner after I had been taken away from Candace… and now I was somewhere completely new.

 _Did I faint?_ I whined loudly, trying to sit up in bed so that I could take in my surroundings. _Wait a minute, am I in a real bed?_

I actually was. I was waking up in an actual bed for the first time since I had been with Candace, rather than waking up from my recurring nightmares on a bench inside of my holding cell at the facility. I wasn’t even at the facility, I was somewhere else entirely. 

“So is that really her??”

“She’s so pretty…”

“Wait look, she’s waking up~”

As soon as I was sitting up in bed I found myself suddenly getting swarmed, surrounded by a group of girls I had never met, who unlike me, were wearing nightgowns and pajamas rather than sleeping entirely naked. 

_Oh god… am I in hell?_ It might seem pretty weird to the uninitiated to assume that waking up in a room full of giggling girls meant that this little lesbian had finally found her way to hell, but the only thing it reminded me of was waking up in a bedroom with three other orphan girls.

 _Oh fuck, please don’t tell me all of that was a dream._ For a split second, I was panicking. There were parts that I most certainly wished were a dream, but I was horribly concerned that I was somehow back in the girl’s bedroom back at the foster home, and I desperately was hoping that not all of my adult life since then had been make believe in my head as I slept. 

Feeling horrifically flustered all of a sudden, I quickly examined by body hoping that my memories were real, and sure enough when I looked at my lower back, I saw it-

My brands… or more accurately, one of my brands. That demented nautilus shell was still there, but Candace’s initials were not. They had been burned over completely, leaving no sign they had ever been there. 

“Master watches professionals stream sometimes, she didn’t put that on you, did she?”

“Isn’t that the zerg spiral…”

“So what, did you used to play a lot of starcraft???”

 _Oh fuck._ I suddenly realized who these girls actually were, that woman’s other slaves. _So it all was real…_

I may be a proud lesbian icon, but having three complete strangers gawking over my naked body was nerve-wracking, even if they are women… very attractive women no less. 

“…Didn’t the matron say to let her know when she wakes up?”

“Zenna should be the one to go tell her~!!!”

“Wait, why do I have to be the one to do it?”

“…Because she belongs to Claudia, doesn’t she?”

“We belong to Josie, remember???”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I should have to do it?”

“Well I don’t want to do it…”

“And neither do I, Claudia scares me~~~”

“But I don’t want to either?”

“Come on…”

“Just go!!!”

“Alright, fine.”

It was like a cartoon watching them speak one after another, and before I even had the chance to get a word in, the third girl, Zenna, had already stormed out of the room. 

“Hey~!!! I’m Darcey!!!”

“And I’m Autumn…”

“H-hi, I- Where am I?” Holy shit, they will not give me a second to adjust, will they? This really was turning out to be just like living in the girl’s room at my foster home. Hopefully they wouldn’t be as annoying as the other foster girls I used to live with. _Please don’t be Jana, Sakura, and Lily all over again…_

“You’re home now, I think… This is our bedroom.” Autumn piped up, shushing Darcey before she had the chance to jump back in and overwhelm me any more than she already was. “You know that you’re like… a slave, right?”

“I’m a slave, yeah… I remember that.” I sighed, wishing it wasn’t the case but knowing that it very much was. “My name’s Chloe…”

“You’re that slave girl with no last name, right?” Darcey added, having calmed down just a little bit since I had woken up. “I saw on some of your paperwork you just don’t have a last name somehow~”

“I’d… rather not talk about it…” I frowned, retreating in bed as the two of them stood over and questioned me. Autumn was very cute in her nightgown, and Darcey pajamas were just as cute, but I didn’t have anything but the pink bed sheets I was grabbing at to cover up my naked body. I should not be trusted to live in a bedroom with three other girls. “Wh- what happened to me last night?”

“You came out of the facility high on drugs from your surgery, and you fainted~” Zenna opened the door, not for herself, but for her master. 

“Claudia…”

“That’s my name, but that’s not how you should address your superiors, Chloe…” She shook her head, swinging her cane in her hand for a moment before leaning on it for support. “You do know better than that, don’t you?”

“Yes, Ma’am!!” I quickly blurted out, still scared and disoriented. I was in **her** home now, and that meant I needed to be careful. “It won’t happen again, I’ll be back in working order by the end of the day at the latest, I promise… I just…”

“You just need a moment to adjust, I understand. That’s why you’re not in trouble just yet.” She smiled reassuringly, turning to the other slaves that had been in the room with me and directing them out of the room. “I don’t care where you go, but go make yourself useful, girls… I’d like to give Chloe my full attention for the time being~”

The other girls, without hesitation, did as Claudia said- leaving the two of us alone together. 

“Ma’am, I-”

“Can you work today, Chloe?” Claudia turned to me and smiled, being as friendly as she could for a person who held my life in her hands. “I’m not going to hurt you, so be honest~”

“Yes. I can work today if need be, Ma’am.”

“But do you want to?” She smirked, almost giggling under her breath. 

I stopped, thinking about it for a moment. “Not really, no…”

“Then let’s skip that for today, then~” Her smile was infectious, and her charisma was unmatched, even by my last owner. “How good are you on a leash?”

“Like a show dog, Miss.” I bit my lip, smiling back at her. “Quiet and pretty~”

“Just how I like my slaves~” 

Claudia held up her cane, twisting the head of the implement and pulling a long bronze chain from the head of the cane, the end that doesn’t make contact with the floor, equipping herself with a leash built into her cane. 

“Are you familiar with proper leashing procedure, doll?” Claudia held the end of the chain in her hand for a moment before pressing a button and actually letting the chain retract back inside, stepping towards me. 

“Not yours, Miss.” I took a deep breath, steeling myself as she approached, using up all of my energy to keep myself from backing away. “Will you please teach it to me?”

Polite, calm, composed. I had made a lot of mistakes while I was with Candace, and I wasn’t about to repeat any of them. There wasn’t going to be any misbehaving from me today. I needed to impress her. 

“On your knees, legs spread. Arms behind your head, elbows up, hair in hand. I need you to keep those sunny locks of yours out of my way.” She smiled, tapping the end of her cane on the ground just once. 

I did as she said, spreading my thighs apart as I knelt for her, holding my hair behind my head. Something about that cane of hers was terrifying to me. “Like this?” 

“Just like that, yes.” She grinned excitedly, holding her cane by the opposite end and put the head to my collar.

It was a strange little detail, but the fancy piece decorating the very top of her cane was actually a head, a sculpture of an animal’s head at least. It was somewhere between a snake and a dragon, and it appeared that the jaws actually opened up at the press of a button.

 _Click._ The metal jaws of the serpentine creature opened up, before just as quickly closing around the head of my collar, biting down on it. There was another clicking sound, Claudia pressing a completely different button, before opening the jaws again and pulling the head of her cane away from my collar. _Click. Click._ I wasn’t sure how, but in just three clicks she had affixed a leash to my collar without even having to reduce herself to my level. 

“Now say thank you and bow, keep your head down, palms flat on the floor~” 

I was careful not to do anything before she told me to, letting my hair back down and putting my palms on the floor at her feet. I was so close to her, all it would take was grabbing her ankle and knocking her over, but I didn’t. I was too nervous. 

She wanted her due respect from me and she was going to get it. I placed my palms on the floor, and lowered myself to the ground, bowing for her at her feet. “Thank you… Master…”

 _Master._ The word still sounded wrong coming out of my lips. I couldn’t believe I had called her that last night, and I was equally bothered to find myself saying it to her now. Master… that’s supposed to be for Candace, not her.

“Rise to your feet and stay at my side, I don’t want to feel your collar pulling taut.” Claudia gently but firmly tugged on the chain, letting me know it was time to get up. 

I rose to my feet, obeying her every word. At least she was a woman who knew exactly what she was doing. 

“When we walk like this, on a leash, you’re behind me and on my left at all times. That means I want the rightmost point of your right foot further left than the leftmost point of my left foot, and the furthest point of your front foot behind the heel of my back foot, **without** letting your leash pull taut, do you think you can do that?”

“I think so, Ma’am…” I bit my lip nervously, already able to tell how difficult this was going to be. “It might take me some practice…”

“Would you like said practice now, my dear?”

“If that’s alright with you, Miss…”

“Follow me, cutie~”

↞✶↠

I quickly got the hang of it, but I wasn’t confident enough to try and tell her when to stop, so we paced around for quite a while until Claudia decided she wanted to stop.

“Take a seat.” We stepped into what looked like a second story conservatory, with great glass walls overlooking the beautiful gardens outside. “On the floor with you~”

I knelt on the floor once again, like I was told, turning to face her in her seat as she spoke. 

“So…” She crossed her legs and smiled, setting her cane down beside her, leaning against the chair. “Let’s figure out what I’m going to do with you then, shall we?”

“Y-yes, Ma’am?” I swallowed nervously. This was the moment of truth, if I couldn’t do as she told me to do, I was almost certainly going to die. 

“You’re a slave. You’ve memorized all of your guidelines, I don’t need to teach you those, I just need to give you purpose… as my maid.” She smiled, admiring my naked body as I looked up at her. “I’m sure you’re good at all of the traditional maid duties, but as you can see, we already have three maids, Chloe.”

“I see that, Ma’am. Yes.”

“Darcey cleans. Autumn cooks. Zenna cares for our daughter.” Claudia’s smile faded away as she took a deep breath, trying to ease her own excitement. “What can you do for me, Chloe?”

“I… excuse me?” I swallowed nervously, shaking in place as I struggled to figure out what to say. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking… I’ll do anything you make me-”

“I know you will. I’m not concerned about that.” She went on, sighing. “In order to give you the best chances of success, I want to know what you’re good at, Chloe.”

“What am I good at, Ma’am?” 

_What was I good at?_

“My last owner made me cook, clean, and serve her. But before that… I don’t know… I’m good at video games… I-” I bit my lip, staring up at her with a bright pink blush on my cheeks. “I can entertain you, Ma’am~”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.” Claudia eyed me hungrily. “So go ahead, entertain me~”

_You can do this, Chloe…_

I took a deep breath, trying to make myself look as cute as possible as I crawled to her on my hands and knees. I had become accustomed to accomplishing minor tasks such as movement in as humiliating a manner as possible. It hurt, not physically, but mentally, to have to put your pride on the floor for someone else to step on. But it was my life, and if I needed to be good at it to survive, then I was going to master it. 

“May I use my mouth for you, Ma’am?”

“Do you think you deserve to put your filthy little animal mouth anywhere near me, Chloe?”

I looked up at her and shook my head, my hands and knees still firmly planted on the ground beneath me. “No, Ma’am… I don’t deserve that.”

“Then no, no you may not.” She sat there, her legs still crossed as she watched me, waiting to be entertained. 

Right… I need to put on a show. If she wouldn’t let me pleasure her, I’d have to do something else to impress her. Something that Candace liked seeing from me. “May I humiliate myself for your amusement… Ma’am?”

I never thought I could possibly fall this far… asking for permission to do something I didn’t want to do, for the amusement of a person that I didn’t yet know or trust, or want to be with. That was my life now. 

“You may…” Claudia set her elbow on the arm of her chair, leaning her head against her palm for support. “Find a place where you think your mouth **does** belong, and put it there~”

I sighed, face still flushed as I thought it over, knowing exactly what I ought to do. “Yes, Master.” I took a deep breath in, and then out, lowering my head to the ground between her feet and gently kissing the floor.

There was a moment of silence, the air cracking with fear as I trembled beneath her, hoping that I was doing alright. But somehow all of that stress melted away when I felt the weight of her foot, firmly pressing the back of my head to the floor, reminding me where I stood. 

“You know where you belong, don’t you?”

“Below you, Ma’am.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I’m your slave, and you’re my master.”

“More specific than that, Chloe. **Why** are you a slave? **Why** do you deserve this?” 

“Because you’re better than me, Ma’am!!” I pressed the back of my head into her foot as she held it there, not trying to break free, not trying to move her away, just feeling the resistance. I pushed against the weight of her stepping down on my head, just trying to feel her hold me there, wanting to feel her above me. “Because I need to feel your power over me. I need to feel… **_lesser_ **than you.”

“And **why** is that, Chloe?”

“Because I **am** lesser than you…” I stopped, putting my head back to the floor, feeling the weight of her foot follow me down. “I’m lesser than you, Master.”

Claudia lifted her foot off of the back of my head, setting it back on the floor beside me. “I don’t care what your childhood was like, or about your life before me, you are a slave and you are mine.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Say it.”

“I am a slave, and I am yours.”

“Again.”

“I am a slave, and I am yours.”

“One more time?”

“I am a slave, and I am yours.”

“I lied… one more time?”

“I am a slave, and I am yours… Master.”

“Your life is worth less than that of an ordinary human, do you know why?” Claudia spread her legs excitedly, waiting for me to raise my head from the floor before giving me the answer herself. “It’s because you **aren’t** a human, not anymore.”

“Yes, Ma’am…” I swallowed nervously, keeping my gaze down at her feet and my palms flat on the wooden floor beneath me. “I understand.”

“But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy.” Claudia smiled, reaching for my chin with her hand rather than using her cane to touch me, lifting my gaze up to look at her. “Darcey, Autumn, and Zenna are all happy, healthy, obedient, and loved. I love all of my slaves dearly, and I want them to feel that, but you have to deserve that love… do you deserve that love, Chloe?”

“No, Ma’am… I don’t.”

“Not yet, you don’t.” She smiled at me, sitting back up in her seat and continuing to stare down at me. “Did your last owner love you, Chloe?”

_Did my last owner love me? Really?_

Of course she had to go there. I could handle anything she could throw at me, except for that. Because the truth was, I had no idea… I had no idea whether Candace ever truly loved me, or if she had just been pretending. 

“I… I don’t know, Ma’am…” I was just glad I had gotten as far away from her as I could. “I’m sorry…”

“The point of me asking is that it doesn’t matter… whoever she was, she can’t reach you anymore. I’m your world now~”

Claudia smiled, uncrossing her legs and spreading them as she continued to gently gaze into my eyes, her loving aura quickly filling my heart with warmth. 

“And as long as you recognize and respect that… you deserve my love~”

I could feel that warmth spreading to my cheeks as I blushed even harder, my face turning red like a cherry. “Do you mean it, Miss?”

“I do…” She gave me a toothy grin, her smile filling the entire room with warmth. “Now get at it, little thing~”

Claudia was stunningly beautiful, and it made peeling back the hem of her dress all the more satisfying just to get at her quim… and there it was, wet and waiting for me. She wanted me as much as I wanted her, and honestly… probably quite a lot more. 

There was unfortunately no cock to be found hiding between her legs, but that was okay. Not everyone could be Candace St. Clair, drop dead gorgeous, busty, curvy, perfectly feminine, **and** well endowed… unbelievably well endowed. I would prefer to be sucking on some nice thick girlcock, but drinking juice straight from the cunt of a goddess was more than enough for me.

She was an insanely pretty woman, as striking as she was imposing. Claudia was six and a half feet of pure lady. She wasn’t wearing anything under that dress of hers, of course she wasn’t, why were rich people so weird?

I thought this kind of strange behavior ran in Candace’s family, but maybe after a certain point, all wealthy people were just deplorable. 

“Thank you, Ma’am…” I relaxed, feeling her running her fingers through my hair made me feel at ease, like she was in control here. I could mess up if she was in control, so I let her bury my face into her clean shaven cunt. Kissing her labia as if they were a pair of lips. 

I had no idea what my new master wanted, but that was okay. I was going to learn, eagerly. I had no reason not to trust her yet after all, it wasn’t her fault I had been forced into slavery, it was Candace’s. Claudia was just the one who bought me off of the black market and decided to give me a home here between her legs, and I should be grateful for that. I **was** grateful for that. It was leagues better than getting sold off to a man I’ve never met, or getting fucked to death by Candace’s brother. I never wanted to see another member of Candace’s family in my life. 

“Good girl, Chloe~”

Praise. I liked praise, especially when it came from the lips of gorgeous women like her, it meant that something I was doing was making her happy. That’s what I was after, making her happy. I had nothing to strive for in life anymore, except for her. I was going to find happiness somewhere, even if it came from pleasing Claudia Mariam. 

“You’re a very pretty slave, you know that?” This was normal for her. She had three slaves already, she had a girl between her legs more often than she didn’t, she was used to holding conversations like this. “Aren’t you glad you found your way to a proper master?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Thank you very much…” She just won’t stop talking. How am I supposed to do my work if she won’t stop talking? It makes it really hard to focus on pleasuring her.

“That brand of yours you have down there is also quite pretty, I can’t believe I didn’t notice that before~”

“Yes, Ma’am… I had to have one of my other brands removed before I got to you.”

 _Oh my god. Why does she keep going?_ I get that she wants to get to know me, but is questioning me while I’m trying to service her cunt really the best idea?”

“Isn’t that the zerg spiral?” She commented, clearly quite amused that it was there, something she was able to easily recognize. “You know, my little sister plays that game~”

“Starcraft, you mean?” _Oh my god, please shut up._ I kept cursing her out in my head, unable to speak my mind to her. “It’s a popular game, Ma’am. I used to play it too~”

“That’s nice, I hope you had fun with that. I won’t be able to let you play any more of that, unfortunately. Online capabilities and what not, you aren’t allowed contact with the outside world I’m afraid.” 

“That’s alright, Miss. I understand that. I had a bit of a falling out with the game anyways.” If I never got to see or hear anything from that cursed game ever again, I would be just fine. In fact, I hoped I’d never have to play another real-time strategy game in my life. I may be good _at_ them, but look how much good they’ve done for me. Things went well for a while, but everything went south when I got to the top. 

You would think that once you reached a certain level of notoriety, you’d be immune to that kind of thing, but no. I was never going to reach a point where I would have been safe from getting kidnapped and sold into the black market, not if getting to the top of my sport wasn’t enough.

It didn’t seem fair that these sickos could be so wealthy and prosperous, but as soon as I became the best in the world, I became a slave. I was just going to have to live with that though. There wasn’t going to be any esports for me, ever again, and that was fine. I had something new to focus on and devote myself to, pleasuring my masters, whoever they ended up being. 

I sighed, pressing my lips to her vulva and slowly lapping at the inside of her cunt with my tongue. Maybe if I smother myself in her genitals she’ll take the hint that I just want to eat her out, and hopefully she’ll let me go quiet. It’s not that I don’t want to talk with my new master, but right now I just wanted to tune out the world and forget how cruel my fate really is. 

“That’s too bad, I was going to suggest that we watch my sister together.” Claudia sighed, cooing at me from above condescendingly. She could do what she wanted with me and I would have no power to stop her, so at least she was being nice. “She plays that game professionally, she’s quite good at it~”

“ _Ghhhck-_ ” I quickly yanked myself off of her, pulling out from between her legs, gagging and choking on a combination of my own spit and her vaginal fluid. “What?? What was that??”

“Well now, slow down… be careful.” That was probably a mistake, but she didn’t exactly seem to mind, thankfully. “Starstruck, dear?”

“Y-your sister, Master?” Why am I breathing so fast? Why is my heart beating so hard? What’s wrong with me?

 _She_ **_can’t_ ** _be talking about who I think she is. She can’t. She can’t. She can’t._

I gagged, trying desperately not to faint out of shock for the second time in as many days. “You mean th-the one who’s on vacation?”

“That’d be the one, yeah. Why? Would you like to meet her?” She winked, giggling under her breath at my presumably fangirl-esque freakout. “Oh, that reminds me. I really ought to give her a call before I forget… Hold tight cutie~”

 _Wait. Shit, no!!_ I watched helplessly as she stood up from her chair, stepping halfway across the conservatory before I could stop her. My mind was racing too quickly for me to get words out of my mouth, my throat clenching down on my sentiments before I got the chance to say them.

 _It_ **_can’t_ ** _be, that’s just too absurd, the chances are too astronomically low for- Oh my god, wait. Candace doesn’t have a sister… does she?_

 _No, fuck- She_ **_does_ ** _, doesn’t she? But this can’t be her, that’s just- what was her name? What was her name?_

I could feel my arms and legs wobbling beneath me as I sat there, still on all fours- about to collapse where I knelt, where I cowered. If my mental state was a bad sign, the reaction my body was having was probably even more concerning. I was racking my brain for answers, but I just couldn’t figure out her name- I knew that I had heard it once before, but I couldn’t remember, that was such a long time ago.

 _What was Cyrus’ last name? Griffin. That’s different from his mother’s, isn’t it? What was her last name? So what if it’s Cyrus’ facility, he wouldn’t let me get sold to his_ **_other_ ** _sister, would he?_

 _Besides, just look at her- it’s not possible. She’s too tall and… she doesn’t even look like Candace. Like sure, they would only be half sisters, and Candace is albino, but they look_ **_too_ ** _different._

_Cyrus would have to be her full sibling, and they somehow look even less alike. Cyrus is shorter than Candace too, and just look at the height difference between him and Claudia, it’s nonsensical to think that they could be related, right?_

_Claudia’s hair is light brown anyways, Candace and Cyrus are both blonde, just like their father. Their father was pretty tall though, and even if Lilith’s hair was kind of brown, it was mostly grey- amazingly._

_The only thing they all have in common with her are those… Stormy blue eyes of hers…_

“Gah. Straight to voicemail, drat.” Claudia rolled her eyes and grumbled, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the tone to tell her to leave a message, clearing her throat as she prepared to do so, gazing straight into my eyes from above- like a goddess. Like Candace. “Her phone is on too, or else it would have sent me straight to her inbox instead of making me wait through her dial tone-”

I stared straight up into them, those gorgeous blue eyes that Claudia has, and for once they seemed calm, less like a storm and more like… the ocean.

Those are Candace’s eyes. 

“Hello dear, it’s your sister again. I was just wondering if you had any more thoughts about coming over for a visit anytime soon. My, um- husband… has been dying to get a chance to see you again, says he has something to tell you in person, which I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by.” 

She winked at me, holding one finger up to let me know that this was just going to take a moment as she turned to face away from me, our eyes no longer locked together.

_No…_

“But anyways, we have several new additions to the family that I’m sure you’ll be delighted to meet. You know- **pets** and whatnot, they’re the most adorable things… and I-”

_Please don’t tell me…_

“I guess I just want to catch up with you?”

_She can’t be…_

“Last time we saw each other, Lilian was so little, she doesn’t even remember meeting her aunt… and I was wondering if my mother had given you a call recently?”

_That’s not possible…_

“Anywho, please call me back. I’m dying to hear back from you-”

_Please tell me you’re not…_

**Click**. Claudia, my master, hung up the phone, turning back to face me. She gazed straight into mine with those beautiful oceans in her eyes, and her gorgeous candid smile, her dirty blonde hair glistening in the sunlight beaming down into the conservatory. 

I retched, scurrying across the floor away from her seat- away from her- my nails scratching the ground like I was trying to claw my way out of here in some vague sense. 

Claudia was about to say something, I could tell, but all I could hear was her gasping as she watched me for a moment. Those gears in my head that you could always so clearly see ticking away stopped, jammed together and completely stuck, like some stray thought was caught in the gears, shutting everything down in an instant. 

It was like my body was trying to expel every part of itself from the inside out, I retched- gagging and hurling. I could feel tears of pain cutting their way out of me like needles as I vomited right there on the fancy tile floor of the conservatory. My new **master’s** conservatory- on the first day here. She had just brought me home, and almost instantly I was fucking up in the most major way humanly possible, first thing in the morning no less.

“ **Chloe!!** ” She shouted, and it just made everything worse. The tears had just been pain, but not now- now they were fear, and anger, and sadness, and despair, all while the tears of pain still poured out of me. 

“I- I- I- I- I- I- I- I-” The first word out of my mouth screeched its way through, looping like a broken record. One syllable, one letter, it was almost as if it was the only word small enough to slip between the cracks and grooves of the gears still stuck in my mind. “I- I’m so… so sorry… Master… my master… I-”

_This is it… I’m a dead woman…_

“Oh, **hush!!** ” She scurried towards me, and I was sure she was going to strike me dead then and there, but she found herself at my side. “And you tried to insist that you could work today.”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, Master. I swear!!” I shut my eyes, hoping she would just be quick. Painless, merciful- that’s how I wanted it. The only thing that I could ask for is that my death **not be humiliating**. “I’m a failure… I’m sorry I’m such a failure…”

“I said **hush** , Chloe. Listen to me when I speak.” A hand on my skin, gently rubbing my back. That was what I felt, not a deadly volley of electricity, not the pain of her bludgeoning me with her cane, a hand rubbing my lower back, right around my brand. “Deep breaths.”

“Ma’am… I-”

“Deep breaths, no words.” She silenced me, standing up behind me and looking down at me and the mess I had made. No, I was the mess here. The vomit on the floor was indistinguishable from the ugly disgusting mess that I had become. The catastrophe here in the conservatory with her was me, bile and all. “Can you stand?”

 _Deep breaths, no words._ I couldn’t say for sure that it was a test, but it might have been. I breathed in and out, in and out, nodding my head in affirmation. I could stand. I didn’t have to speak or disobey to let her know that. I could just stand up. 

So I did, slowly but surely, I rose to my feet. I left my pride and dignity on the floor with the rest of the sludge and bile I had spewed out of me. I had no use for them here, my ego was going to do me no good, it was just as useless as I was. 

I used to hate this, and I still did, but I had learned to put up with it- I could put up with looking like a worthless pathetic mess. I could accept **being** a worthless pathetic mess, that’s what I was. I hated looking the part, but there was no amount of pride that was going to help me here. 

“Don’t think I’m not going to **punish** you for this, even if you feel like shit- you at least need to learn not to lie about being able to work, and pushing yourself when you’re so clearly inundated with pain.” I could have sworn that she had shouted at me in anger, but she hadn’t. It had been a disappointed yell for sure, but she had shouted at me out of concern. “You’re going to clean this up.”

 _I am, of course I am._ I nodded again, still not needing to speak, not when she told me to stay quiet. I kept breathing, trying to stay calm and collected and presentable. Not for me, but for her. _I would never make you clean up after me, Master… I would never let you…_

**Thump.** That was the sound of the end of her cane tapping the floor just once. Not too quiet, not too loud, but just enough to get your attention. It was invasive, but it wasn’t threatening, it was firm… No, it was even more than that. It was strong, but not just strong-

It was assertive. 

“You, my new slave, are to find your way to the washroom downstairs and find some way to clean all of this up- including yourself.” She pointed her cane directly at me, more authoritatively than accusingly. “I don’t care how you get it done, it’s not **my** job to know how my home stays clean. It’s my job to shelter, nurture, and feed the ones who do… and in return for their service, **trust** my slaves and their ability to do so.”

I nodded, still silent, still obedient. My eyes lit up as I looked into hers, feeling at ease, safe in knowing that I wasn’t dead just yet. -And I wanted to keep it that way.

“Show me that I can trust you to get it done, with or without the help of someone who will offer such a thing to you, but get it done quickly- or I will be sending you off to bed without dinner tonight.”

 **Thump**. I heard that sound again, and before I was even aware that it was what I was doing, I was already out of the room, headed downstairs. I was obeying. 

I shut my eyes and ran down the stairs. I didn’t care if there were tears running down my face or piss running down my legs, I was going to do what I was told. It was the only thing that I had anymore, my desire. My desire to live, my desire to listen, to serve, to obey, to do what it takes to survive… and the thing that I desired most of all was love. 

I wanted to be loved, and I was going to do everything in my power to make that happen.

I ran through the house with my eyes closed, trying to reduce the stimulus I was experiencing. _Out the door, off to the left, down the stairs, and immediately to my left again, across the hallway from the room I had woken up in should be-_ I opened my eyes and peered inside. _The washroom._

We had walked past it on the way upstairs to get to the conservatory, it was right there before the stairs, directly outside of what I assumed was the slave’s quarters, our bedroom- **my** bedroom. Hopefully after today I would actually get to sleep in a proper bed. 

It was practically the first thing we had walked by on our way through the house. That was where Darcey, the blonde one, had been. I was pretty sure that she was the one in charge of cleaning, right?

“Darcey?” There she was. I couldn’t tell if she was working, on a break, or otherwise, but I didn’t know what I was doing. I wasn’t going to torture myself trying to make it seem like I was a better maid than I was. I was going to do this right, even if that meant admitting that I couldn’t do this by myself. “I need help…”

 _Please…_ She stared at me. I could feel it, but I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t see what she was thinking through my crying eyes as I wiped the tears away. Claudia said that I could ask for help, I just need to find someone who would offer it to me, someone who would help me. 

_Please help. Please don’t tease me, please don’t bully me, please don’t make fun of me. Please just-_

“Yes, I can help-” My eyes slowly fluttered open hearing her voice kindly agreeing to help me. Relieved that she wasn’t like the girls I grew up with. “What do you need, what can I help with?”

_Maybe this isn’t going to be the foster home all over again…_

↞✶↠

“Now let’s get back to bed, and sleep.” 

Darcey helped me clean up the mess in Claudia’s conservatory upstairs with little to no complaints. She didn’t do the work for me, she just got me what I needed and helped walk me through it. Thankfully our master didn’t seem to mind. 

“Am I being put away for the night, Ma’am?” I was composed enough to speak, and hopefully she wouldn’t mind hearing my voice after all of that. I wasn’t arguing, I was just asking to be informed. “Should I expect to go without dinner tonight?”

I was on her leash again as she led me downstairs. I had hardly even noticed that she had let me off of the leash when she was on her phone call, it had never felt like she was any less in control. But somehow it still felt like a relief to be on a leash again. 

“And starve a sick little sweetheart who needs sustenance to recover after her time at the facility?” The thought seemed silly to her, who wanted me back in proper shape to serve her as quickly as I could be. “You, who just ejected whatever little food you had in you, going without dinner?” She giggled, pulling me along. “Unless you make a number of other mistakes today- No. Not likely.”

“Thank you…” Now this, this was a woman who I was eager to impress, just like **her**. “Thank you, Ma’am.”

It had taken me this long to figure out what this reminded me of, what this felt like. But eventually my brain got back into the right state to be able to figure it out. 

_Candace._ This felt like Candace. 

I could remember that day so clearly, it was like it was happening again. Wanting to serve her only for her to interrupt me, making my work harder for me. Getting flustered, frustrated, wanting to run away from it all.

A sudden surge of pain and terror, unable to breathe, making a mess of myself and immediately thinking that my life was over for it. To get yelled at for getting my bodily fluids all over her floor and immediately be forced to apologize and clean up after myself. 

Trekking across the house with my face flushed with shame and humiliation, and in the end being grateful for the sympathy she decided to show me, and being forgiven. Getting let off the hook on the promise of having dinner taken away from me if I made any further mistakes. 

That was the night she gave me my first brand.

It really was like it was happening all over again, in a different place, at a different time, and with a different mistress, but it was the same. It was almost like I was still with Candace… 

But unlike last time, I wasn’t going to make any further mistakes and get myself in trouble. I wasn’t going to let history repeat itself. I wasn’t going to give Claudia a reason to punish me with a brand. I was going to have dinner tonight, with my new owner, and her family… my new family… 

If I can manage not to fail her like I failed my previous owner, then maybe for once in my miserable useless life I wasn’t failing Candace again. I’m not going to let her efforts go to waste, she wanted me to be safe, she wanted me to find a good home, and I’m not going to let her down by failing another mistress like I had failed her. I’m not going to fail Candace again, not tonight… maybe tomorrow, but not tonight… 

_Candace…_

All signs pointed to it, and I had grappled with the idea of just letting it go, maybe I didn’t need to know- but I did. There was plausible deniability, even just knowing how unlikely it was, but it could still be her. I couldn’t let this go, I couldn’t wait any longer, I couldn’t keep going like this… I needed to know.

_I have to know._

“Master.” Claudia had delivered me, on a leash, straight back to the same room I had woken up in. She wanted me to settle down and get some rest, and I wasn’t going to be able to sleep until I knew for sure, but I knew that once that leash came off, I wasn’t going to have the strength to ask. It had to be now, before she tapped that cane of hers and let me off her leash, I need to know. “Excuse me, but I hope I have permission to ask… what’s your sister’s name?”

“My little sister?” I could see in her eyes that it was an odd question to ask, out of all things. But she had no reason not to tell me. So she did.

“Candace. Candace St. Clair.” 

**_Snap._ **It was like a lifeline keeping me afloat was being severed as she pressed the button on her cane, retracting her bronze chain and letting me off of her leash, the one thing giving me strength right now. 

“Why do you ask?” She twirled her cane in her hand, now free to swing it around as she pleased. “You aren’t familiar with her, are you?”

“No, Ma’am.” I clenched my mouth shut, lying through my sweet little lips as I bowed for her, my new master. “I don’t know who that is, I’m afraid… my apologies.”

_Yes I do. I know Candace better than anyone else in the world…_

↞✶↠

Dinner. Autumn came to get me for dinner. 

_Candace is her sister… I belong to Candace’s sister._

I didn’t sleep, I couldn’t possibly sleep after learning that, I just laid there in bed and cried, but Claudia didn’t need to know that. 

“We sit down here~” Autumn, just like Darcey had been, was doing her best to be helpful. She wasn’t mean, she wasn’t bullying me, she was being kind and welcoming- just like everyone else here had been. 

And that was eating away at me. Because if she was really a part of Candace’s family, that meant the rest of her family was too… and I had never thought a member of that family could be so welcoming.

“Here. We sit here, at the end.” Autumn pulled out a chair for me to take a seat in, so I did, watching Darcey, the other slave, sit down across from me. 

The table was long, and Claudia sat at the head of the table, with no one sitting opposite her on our end. It was like the table in Candace’s dining room, but larger… and there I went comparing everything to Candace again, but this time I had a reason. 

_She’s going to find out eventually…_ I knew that much, I just didn’t know whether I should tell her now, or whether it would be best to wait. Sooner or later, I wasn’t sure which was better just yet. It was obvious that _I_ knew, but she didn’t. _Best to keep it to myself tonight…_

But for right now there were more important, and frankly more concerning, things to worry about. 

“Who’s **she** Nanny? I’ve never met **her** before…” 

There was a child here. A child. There was literally a child here, in the room with four slaves, all of whom were wearing nothing but their uniforms, save for me, who was and still is, completely naked- in front of this small girl, not older than the number of fingers she could count on one hand. 

_Of course… leave it to_ **_her_ ** _family to expose their own children to something so horrid._

“That’s Chloe. She’s your mommy’s new slave.” The _Nanny_ that the child had referred to, was actually Zenna, Claudia’s other slave. Not only was she standing there holding this little girl’s hand as she walked her inside, but she was also saying the word slave to her like it was normal. Her outfit certainly didn’t help make that any better, not only Zenna’s uniform, but all of the uniforms, left the wearer’s breasts and genitals completely exposed. “She belongs to your mom.”

“Just like you, Nanny!!” The girl giggled, bouncing along the length of the dining room towards her mother at the head of the table, without a care in the world. “You’re one of Mummy’s slaves too~!!”

“That’s right, sweetie.” Strangely, Zenna did seem to mind being called a slave, even by a five year old child who somehow outranked her. “I belong to your mommy, I’m one of her slaves too~”

“That you are, Zenna dear.” Claudia seemed to just watch as Zenna helped the little girl into her seat next to her mother, watching her slave give her a bow before walking away towards her seat. 

“Do I get to play with your new slave, Mummy?”

“Not tonight, Lilian… but maybe in a few days if you’re lucky~”

“Are you going to play with your new slave, Mummy?”

“Of course I am, but Mummy plays games that you’re too little for~”

“Do I get my own slaves when I’m big enough?”

“Of course you do, sweetie… but you’ve still got a long way to go until then~”

It was kind of revolting watching this five year old child talk about slaves so casually, even if she was adorable. But luckily, Zenna quickly came to put a lot of my worries to rest.

“She doesn’t know that any of this is abnormal… Honestly I think it’s good for her to recognize the difference between us and real people. You know, humans and slaves.” Zenna sat directly next to me, across from Autumn’s still empty chair. “Don’t worry, playing to Lilian just means video games, she has **no idea** what any of this is, and she’s not allowed to know.”

“So you mean you don’t… you know-”

“Absolutely not… the masters got rid of the last **and only** slave who tried… they take that as seriously as they can given their…”

“…Given their what?”

“Given their… tendencies.” Zenna swallowed nervously, sitting up in her seat as she looked to the doorway at Autumn as she entered. “Is Josephine not coming to dinner?”

“Master requested that I deliver her dinner to her room, she’s not feeling well, so I did just that~”

“Alright slaves, quiet down~”

 **Thump.** With the sound of Claudia tapping her cane against the ground one more time, the room went completely silent. Exactly how our master wanted it. 

“It’s dinnertime, which means if they want to sit at the table with us, the slaves are to stay silent until spoken to.” Claudia grinned, setting her cane aside as Autumn began to deliver food to everyone, her master’s first, fellow slaves second, and herself last. “Those are our rules, Chloe… do make sure to follow them, if I have to remove you from the table, you won’t be getting to sit on the floor to eat, understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I understand.” I sat up straight in my chair, watching Autumn deliver my food to me. “Thank you for making sure I know, Ma’am.”

“Of course, darling… Now be a good girl and eat, you’ll need your strength for tomorrow.”

“Yes, Ma’am… Thank you.”

 **Thump.** She did it again, tapping her cane on the floor, and commanding silence and obedience from her slaves once again. 

And so she got just that. We sat there, silently eating dinner like we were told to, listening to Claudia and her daughter chat about silly little things that Lilian said while her mom helped feed her. It was strange on the outside, but as things went on, it was actually kind of sweet. Claudia wasn’t normal, but she seemed like a pretty good mother who genuinely loved and cared for her daughter. 

But still, it was strange that she exposed her child to her slaves, and it was odd that she would even allow her slaves to sit at the same table with her family in the first place. 

“Did your last owner let you sit at the table for dinner, Chloe?”

The whole room froze as she asked me that, within an instant, the eyes of everyone in the room, save for Lilian, were on me- making the realization that I did in fact have a former master. 

“No, Ma’am…” It took me a while to remember that it was alright to respond when spoken to. “Sometimes I got to sit on the floor next to her and eat, but more often than not I was fed in my cell.”

“That sounds dreadful…” Claudia sighed. “She sounds like a dreadful person to make her slave suffer needlessly like that-”

“She wasn’t.” I shut that idea down immediately, realizing a bit too late that maybe that wasn’t the best idea. “I mean… she did things differently, but it wasn’t any worse, Ma’am…” I blushed, trying to flatter my new owner rather than disrespect her. “But, I do like the way you do things, Master… thank you~”

 _That’s your own sister you’re talking about…_

“You’re very welcome, dearest.” Claudia smiled, wiping her face clean of food scraps as she stood up, helping Lilian out of her seat. “Now then, I am going to put Lilian to bed and join my wife. You slaves are to clean up and get to your room. Nell is very much still on duty, so don’t misbehave.”

The three other slaves, though they were being spoken to, did not respond with anything more than nods and bows. 

“And Chloe…” Claudia smiled as she walked past me. “You make sure to sleep in tomorrow, I need you ready to perform exceptionally well on your first day~”

I swallowed nervously, realizing that those were the same words my last owner used to describe my first day with her. “Yes, Master… I won’t let you down.”

“Good girl… I’m counting on it~”

Claudia did exactly as she said she would, leaving us to ourselves and turning in for the night. It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t perfect, but I had at least gotten through my first day with her without getting killed.

And that was all that mattered right now. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a weird thought.
> 
> The author here writes all of her other stories in the third person, but this one has been a first person venture from the start.
> 
> Do you think by writing from the perspective of not only Chloe, but also from the perspective of Candace, possibly symbolizes this idea that the girls are a reflection of the author, and are in turn parts of her?
> 
> And the fact that my perspective has been forcibly wrenched into the story very suddenly by someone who is not the author somehow represents the idea that I am some sort of external force in the narrative, another party or a force of nature, something beyond her control, that is acting upon her?
> 
> Do you think that my presence here outside of the seeming bounds of the story represents some sort of meta textual narrative that somehow blurs the line between reality and the story itself… or am I just looking too far into things?
> 
> It’s likely the latter, my ideas are quite likely too smart for you, but maybe the lines between the story and reality don’t actually exist- because in that case, the next paragraph should probably worry you more than it excites you.
> 
> Anyways, I’ve got to go, there’s lots of work to be done… and you’re going to be busy soon too, because of seen the list of names on the roster for incoming slaves, and yours is one of them~
> 
> It’s such a shame you haven’t been behaving yourself, really.
> 
> I expected better behavior from you~
> 
> _Your future (and current) overlord,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_


	24. House Mouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now if you’ve all been keeping up with my beginning and ending notes like good girls and boys- and whatever else there is that someone could identify as- which I sure do hope you have been doing, then you’ll remember when I pondered about whether Candace and Chloe are representations of the author herself.
> 
> Apparently this is not the case. Because I only just noticed that somebody got into the chapter summary for that last chapter, somehow managing to evade my watchful eye, and it most certainly wasn’t little Claira here.
> 
> I will say however, Claira darling, that it is a bit presumptuous to name a character after yourself… unless maybe you just like the name. St. Clair is a pretty name after all.
> 
> Though I do have to wonder if finding herself under my boot right now is your author’s way of saying that she wished I was there to top her… just like most of you are wishing I was there to top you right now.
> 
> Nevertheless, our little troublemakers have been punished, reminded of their place, and put back in line- both of them. (I do have two feet to subjugate with, after all.)
> 
> It is curious though… how just a little thing can slip by so unnoticed… maybe there are more things out there that I’ve missed, foreshadowing that’s gone unnoticed. Something beyond even my control…
> 
> Anyways… I miss you all already, and I’ll see you next chapter~
> 
> _Your subjugator,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_

“But, Daddy-”

“Don’t _But, Daddy_ me, Candace~!!” My father slammed his fist down on top of his desk, growling and snarling at me. “What I say goes, and that’s final!!”

“But you can’t just shut my career down like this, I worked really hard to get where I am-”

“I can **and** I am.” My father was intent on getting his way, no matter what, and there was little I could do to try and stop him. “That’s final.”

_I can’t believe this… I can’t believe he’s doing this to me…_

“So what… I have to choose between my career or my inheritance?”

“There’s not much of a choice to be made here sweetheart. I’m not letting you cut yourself out of the inheritance, because you’re going to do what I tell you.”

“So you’re making me quit the game…”

“Yes. Yes I am.”

“But, Daddy-”

“What did I **just** say, Candace?”

This isn’t fair. Nothing he ever does to me is fair. I finally have something that I love and that I’m proud of, and he wants me to throw it away just so that he can have a closer eye on me. He wants me to work for the family just to make sure that I know he still owns me. 

“You don’t own me… You can’t control my life like this…”

“Oh yeah? Then why do you still call me Daddy?” He smirked, glaring at me with his cold blue eyes, and when he didn’t get an answer from me, he answered his question for me. “That’s right. It’s because I tell you to… so you’re wrong.” 

“Yes, Daddy…” My heart was shattered inside of me, but what else was new, it had been like that since he took Chloe away from me, and now he was taking everything I had left that gave me a connection to her. “I’m sorry…”

“Good girl~” He smiled, leaning back in his seat as he eyed both me and Leah, his assistant and my bodyguard, who was becoming more uncomfortable by the minute. “You aren’t planning on attending your sister’s party, are you?”

“No, Sir…” I bit my lip, shaking my head no. 

“Good.” He seemed satisfied enough with my answer not to question why I would choose to skip Claudia’s party. Which bothered me slightly, but I knew very well that my father didn’t care about what I was thinking, he just needed to know what I was doing. 

“Good?” But I wasn’t satisfied. He asked for a reason, and I wanted to know why. “Why do you ask, anyways?”

“Because she’s only hosting it for her rat of a mother anyways, I don’t need my princess going anywhere near that, it’s not worth it.” 

“It’s for Lilith?” Claudia hadn’t told me that, and neither had Lilith. She hadn’t even so much as called me to let me know it was happening, she just left it to Claudia. Maybe neither of them wanted me there anyways, or more likely, Claudia didn’t want to invite me but her mother made her. “I mean, I wasn’t **planning** on going… but what if I do choose to attend?”

“I won’t choose to stop you if you want to attend, princess. But I’m not just going to let you go by yourself just for fun. If it was your sister’s party, sure. But since it’s for her mother, I’m not going to send you unless it’s on business.”

“Business?” I scoffed. “What kind of business is there to do at a party?” 

“There’s going to be a lot of people there who owe me money, kitten… And if you want a cut of that money, you’ll have to go and make sure they pay up.” 

“You… want me to be a debt collector?”

“If you’d like to finally make yourself useful to the family which you owe your life to, yes. I’d like you to go and collect debts, princess.”

“But Daddy, that-” I bit my lip, trying to get my words out before he silenced me again. “That sounds dangerous…”

“It’s a dangerous profession, kitten… Your brother, sister, and mom all knew that… and they still put their lives on the line to serve the family.”

“Mommy didn’t have a choice-”

“No, and neither do you.”

“I’m no slave, father…”

“You might as well be.” 

I growled under my breath, but that growl quickly turned into a harmless little mewl when my father snarled back, scaring me back down from any position of power with him. My father was a monster that I could not control, because he had full control over me. 

“You are whatever I say you are, Candace. Because you could have been much much less had I not been feeling generous and merciful to your mother. I may be a mafia boss, but she was a slave, and you very nearly ended up on the other side of that extreme, with **her** and not here with me… so if you aren’t one of my inheritors then that must mean that you’re one of my slaves, like she was. Now if I were you, I know which one I would prefer, **kitten**.” 

“Yes, Sir…” My mewling was again reduced, this time to a pitiful whimper, something I’d expect to hear from Chloe’s mouth, not mine. That’s how much my father made me feel like I was a slave. “Thank you…”

“I love you, Princess.”

“I love you too, dad.”

“Come on now…”

“I love you, Daddy~”

↞✶↠

“God fucking damnit!!!” 

I slammed the car door shut as hard as I could as soon as we got home, stomping my way out of the garage. 

“I can’t do this, Leah. I can’t do this.”

It was mid afternoon by now, we had just landed this morning, arriving from halfway across the country- and I was already losing it. My dad, my father, is trying to make me quit my job and work for him as some sort of debt collector. He thinks that having one of his children as a face would scare clients into forking the money over, but I was having none of it.

This wasn’t what I wanted, this didn’t feel like the lesson I had just learned, this was just unbelievable. Just last night my actions had accidentally resulted in a young woman’s death, and I thought I had learned my lesson. I didn’t want to cause another death, accidentally or on purpose, but apparently that **wasn’t** the lesson my father was trying to teach me. So what exactly was it?

“I thought the lesson here was not to overuse my power and end up getting people killed.” I stepped inside, followed in by Leah and greeted at the door by Aria. “But I guess that’s not what my father thinks, huh?”

Leah didn’t seem to have a proper response, she was endlessly loyal to serving as my father’s assistant and pawn, but she was quick to condemn his actions, as well as mine whenever I started acting like him- yet she could never really bring herself to do anything about it. 

“Look, honey- your father is… not beholden to any sort of morality.” She sighed, stopping just outside of the doorway. “I just do as he says, and he was very insistent that you’re not allowed to take in a new slave until he okayed it.”

Of course he did, that’s just one more thing my father is taking away from me. When he was my age he had already been married for five years, he was just months away from becoming head of the family, and his oldest daughter was already a year old- yet he still treats me like a child, like I’m still just a year old and need him to tell me what to do. That’s why Riley Bowie died, not because raping girls off the street is wrong to him, but because I’m just not allowed to have another slave after Chloe. I hesitated to say it was unfair, but it certainly wasn’t fair for the right reasons. 

I could hear Aria’s trademark pitter-patter across the house as she played cat and mouse with one of my pets, and my blood boiled. I didn’t want to replace Chloe, just like I didn’t want to go to my sister’s party. But thanks to my father, I was very tempted to do both of those things just to spite him. 

_I’m going to this god damn party whether my father wants me to or not._

“Right. Well I guess we’re doing this then.” I turned back to Leah, still standing in the doorway. “Let my father know that I’ll be going to that party.” 

“Don’t sweat it, I’ve got you.” Leah approved of my sudden determination. “I’ll get you there, and take care of our target for us… and you can just have your fun~”

“Thank you, please make sure to inform him that I’ll be bringing someone with me.”

Leah looked up, her eyes following the sounds of Aria’s footsteps through the house, grinning to herself. “I’ll make sure to spring it on him at the last moment, just for you~”

_Time to confront some demons, then…_

Leah headed out and turned away shortly thereafter, leaving us to ourselves for the time being. Once she was gone, I found my way to the lounge, sitting myself on the floor across from the most precious item in my art collection. 

“How did you do it?” I couldn’t even make eye contact with her as I spoke, despite knowing that she wasn’t real. “How did you put up with him, mom?”

The painting said nothing back to me, of course she said nothing back to me. My mother isn’t a painting, my mother is dead- and she has been for quite a while. 

“You were always there for me… what do you think I should do? Do you think I’m like him?” I sat there on the floor across from her, clutching the small cross attached to my necklace in the palm of my hand, hoping that the girl who I’d gotten killed was in a better place. Away from me. “Do you think that maybe Riley is better off dead than with me?”

“I don’t know why you’re talking to a painting rather than your best friend, but if you ask me… Probably.” Aria. It was Aria, who slowly sat down on the floor beside me, two overeager cats in tow, crawling into either of our laps. 

Right. It’s probably time to talk about Aria Fairmont, huh?

Then let me do what my sister does and break away from what was happening to tell you about her, because it’s a really weird, mildly terrifying, and scarily relevant story… especially when it comes to my relationship with my sister, Claudia. 

You might not think it, but a lot of things actually converge on Aria Fairmont, strangely enough. Imagine having a fully completed puzzle, and then reaching into the middle and taking a piece out, that’s what Aria is. 

I met Aria Fairmont when I was eighteen years old, fresh out of my father’s claws, still under the wing of my then and current manager, Tallulah Paciente, who taught me everything there was to know about getting by in this world, money laundering while still being able to do what makes me happy- which at the time, was being a model. 

Just like Aria Fairmont. 

“If you hate me so much, then why are you here?” I looked down into my lap as my little calico, Sophia, climbed between my legs. “Are you really just saying you’re my best friend because you need my protection that badly?”

“Protection from your father is nice and all, but no.” Aria was also slightly preoccupied by a cat in her lap, Thea, my black cat, had always liked her a lot. “I hate your family, but I don’t hate you. Because if I’m being honest… I’m kind of in love with you.” 

“Is it bad that I can kind of tell?” I giggled, gently scratching little Sophia behind the ears. “That’s why you didn’t like Chloe, right? Not because you hate seeing slaves, but because you were just jealous of her?”

“I would hesitate to say that I was jealous of her, because I **do** hate this whole slavery thing, but… kind of.” I could see on her face that she wasn’t exactly proud of that fact. “I was a little bit jealous of her.”

“Aria, I-”

She stopped me, pressing her lips against mine and whimpering into my lips with her warm breath, stopping my heart in my chest as she surprised me with a kiss. 

Of course Aria was in love with me, I could tell that just from talking with her over the phone, but I couldn’t say that I felt bad for her. After all, I was once in love with Aria Fairmont too.

I just wasn’t quite in love with her anymore, not like I had been in love with Chloe.

I kissed her back, placing my hand on her chest as I toppled her over onto her back, feeling and hearing the kittens scurry off as I tackled her to the floor, bearing down on her with my lips. 

“C-Candace?”

“Chloe had her chance with me… and she made her decision.”

“But, she- I… what about-”

“Hold your tongue, doll… because I have a few rules for you.”

I loomed over her on my hands and knees, curling my fingers around the head of the collar clasped around her neck, pulling on it to assert my authority. 

“ **You** also had your chance with me, Aria Fairmont, and **you** were the one who turned **me** down when I wanted us to be together as equals. So if you really want me as badly as you say you do, then you need to know that we are **not** equals anymore.”

I pulled her off the ground just slightly by her collar before slamming her back down on the hardwood floor beneath her, hearing her empty head thud against the ground as it impacted. 

“I don’t care what your feelings are about it, but from now on you are a slave. You belong to me, and this collar around your neck is proof of that.”

She was getting flustered just laying there, staring up at me with a mixture of delight and disgust. “P-proof of what?”

“Proof that **I** am a cat, and you are a mouse.” I snarled at her from above. “I’m better than you.”

Aria bit her lip, struggling and failing to hold herself back. I let her out from under me, watching her scurrying away towards the gaming room, only to falter and end up vomiting right there on the hallway floor. Aria did always have a pretty visceral reaction to the horror of being someone’s slave, so it was no surprise to see her hurling at the moment of becoming one. 

She cowered there on the floor as I walked over to her, stomping my foot on the back of her head and shoving her face into her own bile, knowing very well how much she hated it. 

“You can’t get away from me, little mouse.” I lifted my foot from the back of her head, watching her hack and cough desperately under my weight. “Clean this shit up, Fairmont. There’s a broom closet in the parlor.”

I kicked her one last time before walking away, heading into my gaming room and closing the door behind me. Aria rejected me when I wanted her, and I wasn’t just going to suck it up and let her into my life. 

_Don’t worry Chloe. I’m not just going to let her replace you… if she wants to be with me, she has to earn it._

_Just like you did…_

I sat myself down at my gaming pc, logging onto my blizzard account, CStC, and launching my Starcraft II client. I stared at my list of friends, full of all sorts of people who I didn’t even recognize as I scrolled down, sighing as I landed on her profile. Chloe’s profile, SoCavalier, which had been offline for the last half year. 

_I’ll beat you one day, SoCavalier, mark my words… I’m not done with you yet._

↞✶↠

“Alright you, where did my brother put you?”

I curled up on my bed by myself, opening up my suitcase. I wasn’t going to unpack it, I had plans to stay with Tallulah this weekend, I just needed to find the controller to Aria’s collar, which Cyrus had stuffed into my bag while we were out of state. 

“Oh no.”

I forgot it was in there. I had stuffed it inside and hid it so that I wouldn’t have to look at it, so it just sat in there waiting to be found and opened. 

A small red box wrapped in a single blue ribbon. _To Candace… From Sophia…_

It was surreal, but the controller to Aria’s collar could wait, this needed my attention first. I untied the ribbon and I opened the box, immediately caught off guard by what I found. 

“What the…” It was a birthday present, something that Chloe had gotten for me after I had lost the world championship to her. She wanted to apologize to me for what happened, but she had never gotten to do so thanks to me. “Oh Chloe…”

_You helped make my career. Please lend me your ear._ _  
_ _And let me bring cheer. With this souvenir._

 _I know that I won. But you’re second to none._ _  
_ _Because I had lots of fun. And I hope we’re not done._

 _I’ve been feeling pretty blue. And didn’t know what to do._ _  
_ _But I know you are too. So I made this for you._

 _You’re an angel, I swear. Even I can’t compare._ _  
_ _But we made a great pair. Happy Birthday, St. Clair._

“Oh my goodness, you loser…” I sighed, unable to keep myself from smiling as I pulled the small slip of paper from the box, flipping it over so that I could read the other side, a note from her- the love of my life, from back before we had ever been together. 

_I can’t do much, but I was artsy enough to make this for you, and I really enjoyed it._

_I hope there isn’t any bad blood between the two of us, but if there is- I’m sorry._

_I never imagined I would ever reach that stage, especially against you of all people, but getting to play with you was like a dream come true for me._

_I’ve been one of your biggest fans since the day I met you, and I feel really lucky knowing that a girl like me ever got to know you like I did._

_You’re my idol, and I never meant to steal your dream away from you. So here’s a heart, because I know yours is probably broken, and honestly so is mine. But here’s one to help you fix the one inside of you._

_I hope that you can find someone to share it with, because I know there are lots of girls who would die to wear your heart around their neck._

_I know it’s neither here nor there, but I know I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better._

_At the very least, I hope that we can still be friends, and if not, I just wanted to say that I hope you win next time._

_Thank you for your support and thank you for letting me be a part of your life for a while. Be safe and take care._

_Love, Sophia Madeline Cavalier._

“I don’t deserve you Cavalier…” I set the note aside, the corners of my eyes wet with tears as I peeked inside the box to finally see what it was that she had made for me. “I never deserved you…”

I held it in my hand, examining it, admiring it… appreciating it like I never truly learned to appreciate her, neither before she got to me, nor since. It was beautiful, just like her. 

It was a necklace, a very simple thing made in the shape of a heart… with two slightly out of shape zerg spirals. It was pretty, glowing purple in the light. Just holding up to the light was enough for you to be able to see it glow red on one side and blue on the other.

I pulled it apart, seeing what she meant by sharing it with someone. It was a two piece necklace, meant for lovers, something she clearly thought was a cute idea. Chloe really always did have a crush on me, even before she became my slave. I missed her. 

_What am I doing?_ I bit my lip and set the necklace back down in its box, on the verge of bursting into tears. _I can’t share this with Aria… I can’t share this with anyone except for her…_

“Candace?” Aria was at the door to bring me out for dinner, seeing me there with tears in my eyes. “Are you okay?”

“No…” I hiccuped and sobbed, shaking my head at her as she rushed to my side. “I miss her…”

“Hey hey… It’s gonna be alright.” She landed next to me, gently wrapping her arm around me. “You’re going to be fine-”

“You’re right, Aria. My family is scum and I-” I pulled my hands from my face, trying to stop myself before I started bawling. “I want to be a better person… for her…” 

“She’s gone, Candace.” Aria stopped me right then and there. “Chloe is gone.”

“And that’s why it’s so important!!” I shook her off, getting out of bed and back on my feet. “I want my next slave to love me, Aria… I don’t want to make all of the same mistakes.”

Aria blushed, trying to keep herself from smiling as she avoided eye contact with me. “I can… help… if you want?”

“Please?” I stood over her, standing up straight and reasserting myself. “That’s an order.”

Aria giggled under her breath and shrugged. “Sure…”

“Say Yes, Ma’am.”

“Yes, Ma’am…”

↞✶↠

“Dinner was… nice.” I smiled, handing her the dishes for her to wash. “Thank you, Aria.”

_Right. Is this how normal people act? Do they thank their slaves and servants for their service?_

“I mean, it’s a start.” Aria chuckled, taking the empty dishes to the kitchen and tossing them into the dishwasher. 

“You’re not going to hand wash them?” I tilted my head in an almost comical confusion as I followed her into the kitchen. 

“Why would I hand wash them?” She loaded the dishwasher and shut the door, turning the dial and starting the machine. “You have a dishwasher, why wouldn’t I just use that?”

“Of course you would use the dishwasher, but you should hand wash and dry them first, shouldn’t you?” I crossed my arms, looking over at her sternly, almost condescendingly. “I always made Chloe wash and dry them by hand in the sink first, and then I let her put them in the dishwasher.”

“And then what?” She chuckled, pulling up a chair at the other side of the counter and sitting down. “You made her pull them out of the dishwasher and made her dry them while they were still hot?”

“Well yeah, obviously.” I did the same as she did, pulling out a seat and sitting across from her at the counter. “Isn’t that what’s normal?”

“No!!” She was laughing, rolling her eyes at the stupidity of it. “Normal people just toss shit in the dishwasher and wait until things have dried until they put them away.”

“But what do you do if they come out and still aren’t completely clean?” 

“I mean when that happens then you can wash the rest off by hand~”

“But then why not just avoid it altogether by hand washing them first?”

“Because that takes a lot more work, Candace.”

“Ma’am.” I stared her straight in the eyes with my stern glare. “Call me Ma’am.”

“I-” She sighed, rolling her eyes, but nonetheless smiling at me. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Why in the world should I let my slaves get away with doing less work if it means that I’m not getting perfection.” I crossed my arms and scowled at her, not having as much fun as she clearly was. “A slave’s job shouldn’t be too easy. I deserve perfection, do I not?”

“I mean, sure you do. But normal people don’t always get perfection.”

“I’m not a normal person, Aria.”

“I know, but like-” 

“They’re **slaves** , they should do what they’re told to give their betters perfection.”

“I get what you **mean** , but that gets excessive when you demand it for every little thing.”

“They’re slaves, their time and effort belongs to me, what else are they meant to do?”

“You do realize that slaves are **people** too, right?? Not everyone is a zerg you know??” She seemed flabbergasted, it was amusing on one hand, but concerning on the other hand. “Do you really think they’re any less than you are?”

“Yes. Of course I do, Aria. Slaves are not real people.” I repeated myself just to make sure I was understood. “Slaves are not people.”

“And how can you tell? What about that Riley girl?” Aria retorted. “Was she a slave or was she a person?”

“Well she was a person, of course-”

“But it was somehow still okay to rape and kill her?”

“I was going to make her my slave!! I wasn’t going to kill her!! It’s not **my** fault that she died.” I bit my lip and snarled under my breath, for one finding myself being the one to amend my statement. “It **is** my fault that she died… I’ll take responsibility for that. But it wasn’t my decision to have her killed… I didn’t want that.”

“And you should always get what you want, but not her, right?” Aria grinned and shook her head, smirking at me condescendingly. “Because you’re **better** than her, obviously. It’s just fine that she died, even if she was a person- because she was _going to be_ a slave, right?”

“I was **drunk** , okay?” I glared angrily at her, somehow finding myself unable to scare her into backing down. “I wouldn’t have done that if I wasn’t already three cocktails down.”

“Oh **sure** you weren’t, you’re right- just like you wouldn’t have groped fans at the signing event if you weren’t drunk… oh wait, you were sober for that, weren’t you?” Quite on the contrary it would seem, Aria was not backing down. “But you’re right, Ma’am. You’re always right… so please inform me… what’s the difference between people and slaves?”

“Pardon?”

“You know more than me, so what is it that I don’t understand, Ma’am?” Aria frowned, sitting up straight in her seat, trying to mock the behavior of a proper slave. “When does a person **become** a slave, _Mama cat?_ ”

“I don’t know, Aria. When they’ve been properly trained, or when they’ve been registered in our system, or once they’ve been claimed, how’s that? Does that work for you?”

“That seems kind of arbitrary, don’t you think?" 

“Maybe it is!! So what??”

“All I’m saying is that by that definition, **I’m** not really a slave, am I?” She smirked, relaxing, slouching in her seat. “ **I** haven’t been trained or registered in your system… and I don’t see a controller to my collar on your wrist~”

I stood there, growing flustered, but not angry. She was right. She was often right, even though she was lesser than me. Even though I thought of her as lesser than me. “No, I guess you’re not really a slave… you’re just a house mouse.”

“That’s cute. I like that~”

“Thanks.” I smiled, blushing even harder. “It’s been on my mind since this morning.”

Aria paused for a couple moments to giggle, we both giggled at that, slowly cooling down from our angry spitting match. “When you say things like that… that slaves aren’t real people, you sound like an 18th century southern plantation owner-”

“I do not!!” I protested, honestly a little bit hurt to be compared to something so racist. “I resent that…” 

“Think about it, Candace.” Aria stared straight at me, daring to call me by my name and not by a title, something which I no longer felt like I could correct her on. 

“I need to think about that.” I wanted to shout at her for being right again. “I’m not the only one who thinks like that you know, my father and my brother are like that too.”

“Yeah but that’s what I’m saying, Candace.” She sighed, whining under her breath at my inability to understand what she was trying to point out. “You’re letting your family do your thinking for you.”

I stomped my foot on the ground and let out an exasperated sigh. “I need to go think for a while, okay?”

“Of course.” She frowned, standing up from her seat. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, please no. I’m good.” I sighed, turning away from her. “I’m just gonna go play video games.”

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m going to be, yeah… just make yourself at home.”

“You don’t want to lock me in a cage?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Not yet, no.” 

I stepped away from her, needing to clear my head, across the dining room and back to the lounge on the way to the gaming room. 

_So what if I’m letting my father think for me, is that really so bad?_ I stopped in the doorway connecting the lounge to the dining room, staring up at the portrait of me and my mother. _He did your thinking for you, didn’t he?_

Of course my father did my mother’s thinking for her, she was his slave, and in the end he did something that ended up killing her… was I really just my father’s slave, just like she was? 

_Who was she? Who are you, mom?_ I stepped towards the portrait, cursing myself out in my head. _I know nothing about you… who were you before you were with him?_

Aria was right. Slaves were people, at least to begin with. My mother must have been something before she was a slave- and I had no idea what that was. _You couldn’t have always been a slave, what did he do to you to make you the way you were?_

 _I don’t want to be his slave, mom. I don’t want to be a slave._ ** _Nobody_** _wants to be a slave._ _Nobody wants to be a slave…_ I looked down at my neck, beginning to grab at the cross I was wearing around my neck, but instead I landed on the necklace that Chloe had made for me.

The necklace that **Sophia** had made for me. _Who were you before you were Alecia?_

_If I’m not Candace, then I’m just… Cardinal the second…_

I clutched the necklace in my hand, unable to stop thinking about her. _Would she really be better off dead than with me, mom? Just like you’re better off away from him?_

_Am I really just my father’s son?_

_No._

I picked up my phone and dialed in Justin’s number. The question of whether or not I was going to be hosting the tournament with him was still up in the air, just like the question of whether I’d be attending my sister’s party. But it was my decision to make.

“Hey Justin, are you still on for hosting this thing with me?”

“Yeah, absolutely… What about you, are you in?”

“Of course I am. If they want me, they can have me~”

“See you there, then.”

“See you there~”

And I was not about to let my father make that decision for me.

_If you have a problem, you’ll just have to stuff it._ I stepped inside of my gaming room again for the second time today, booting up Starcraft II again. 

“Hrmmm…” I paused for a moment, staring at the friends screen as I pulled out my phone and sent Chloe’s old manager one last text. 

_~ What’s your username?_

_~ Username for what?_

_~ We’re playing Starcraft, loser. Give it to me._

_~ JustD0wn, with a zero._

_~ CSt.C_

_~ Yeah, I know your username,_ **_runner up_ ** _._

_~ Shut up and get online then!!_

I sighed, sitting at my seat impatiently as I waited for him to come online and play with me… Chloe was capable of being friends with this guy, so maybe I could too? 

It was at least **a** step towards being a functioning human being, and it did bring me a little bit closer to her. I had to get to know him a little bit anyways, we were going to be hosting the tournament together after all- and that was all thanks to her, thanks to Sophia.

_Sophia Cavalier is a really pretty name…_

I sighed, scrolling down to Chloe’s old profile again, staring at it and thinking of her as I waited for her ex-boyfriend to come online. 

_9 days ago? OH WAIT-_

Chloe’s profile **hadn’t** been offline for the last six months after all, I let her use it a fucking week ago to play in front of my father. I let her log in as SoCavalier instead of CSt.C(1), and she beat me, her name was on the screen!! 

“How can you be so stupid?!” I just about broke my gaming mouse shouting at myself, all I could do was hope that he didn’t notice it while he was online, and he didn’t really seem to anyways.

We logged onto the game and started a match as normal, but this time I wanted to try something new. 

“Not everyone is a zerg…” I bit my lip, scrolling my mouse over the option for selecting terrans instead of zerg, which I played 100% of the time without fail. “Let’s try being human for once~”

↞✶↠

“Aria!! What time is it??” I stomped into my room, having lost track of time while playing my game. “Did you feed the cats??”

“Feed the cats?” She was lounging on one of the sofas in my room, a book in hand. “Did you expect me to?” 

“You **always** feed the cats when you’re here, don’t you?” 

“Well, yeah, usually… but you didn’t tell me to. Was I supposed to?”

“I… kind of, yeah?”

“Well then you’re lucky that I did!!” Aria looked up from her book, smirking at me and batting her eyelashes innocently. “But I didn’t **have to** you know, I’m not your slave~” 

I groaned, picking one of the pillows up from the couch and tossing it directly at her face. “Go change the kitty litter… and empty the dishwasher while you’re at it.”

“Alright fine, but I’m gonna move their food bowls out to the kitchen.” She sighed, but she didn’t argue. She was out of the room before I could even climb into bed. 

_Come on, Candace… You just have to ask her._

I wanted to go to my sister’s party, and I didn’t want to go alone. But just because I knew that Aria would say yes didn’t mean I was any less nervous to ask her. We both remembered what happened last time. 

“Hey, Aria… Would you-” I whined under my breath, blushing at my own flustered incompetence as soon as she stepped back in the room. “Would you be my date to my sister’s party?” 

“Your sister’s party??” Her eyes went wide. “Claudia’s party??”

“Well, yeah… she’s my only sister-”

“Your sister **hates me** , remember??”

Right. She does, doesn’t she? I had totally forgotten about that.

The last time I had seen my sister had been at her wedding. After she and her husband had gotten married, they had held their reception at their house. That was where Claudia and I had our big falling out, I remembered that, I had just forgotten that Aria had been my guest at my sister’s wedding. 

I met Aria eight years ago at our first photoshoot together, and I was head over heels for her from the moment I saw her. She didn’t know who I was, she didn’t care who I was, she just thought of me as some weird gamer girl who was trying to be a wannabe model. She was just there for the money. 

Our photoshoots were intimate. How could I not fall for her when our bodies got so close together? 

She was gorgeous, and I had to have her. But when I asked her out, she said no.

We kept having photoshoots together, not because it made a lot of money, and not because she liked me- she didn’t, but because I wanted her so badly. I personally kept losing money going into it just to make sure that she made money and wanted to keep doing them with me. 

And the only reason my father let me do it because it was secretly a front for funneling and laundering money, and Aria got a cut of that without knowing it. 

Eventually that resulted in us growing to where we are today, against all odds. But I didn’t like to think about all of the things I did to her up to Claudia’s reception. I was an even worse person back then than I am now.

“You took me to your sister’s wedding, remember?” She climbed into bed next to me, curling up into a ball against the wall. “I tried telling you how uncomfortable your family made me, and you insisted that I meet them?”

“I remember **that** , I just don’t remember why she hates you.”

“She accused me of stealing from her, remember?”

“Did you steal from her?”

“No!!” Aria was freaking out now just thinking about it, knowing how dangerous my family was. “No. I didn’t steal from her…”

“Then it’s going to be fine.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay…” Aria swallowed nervously, her face bright red as she smiled at me. “Then yes, I’ll be your date to your sister’s party~”

I smirked eagerly, I was well on my way to making up with my older sister, and just maybe I could get her to forgive my best friend in the process. 

My family never learned to accept Chloe, but maybe they could learn to accept Aria… maybe I could give her a chance.

“I’ll give you ten seconds to run, little mouse.” I grabbed her by the ear, listening to the little squeaks coming from her mouth as I brought her lips to mine for a kiss before releasing her. “Now go~”

My heart was thumping with excitement watching my prey gasp, leaping out of bed and scurrying away from the bedroom, not wanting to be eaten. But I was no kitten, no mouse would be escaping me today. 

_10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4…_ **_3_ ** _…_ **_2_ ** _…_ **_1_ ** _… The hunt is on~_

There’s a house mouse on the loose, and I was hungry to put her in her place. 

I pounced, not to Aria, but to my suitcase. If I could finally find the controller to her collar, it was already over for her. I didn’t need it to put the cute little thing under my boot, but I knew it would be useful. 

“You little bitch…”

My little house vermin was smarter than I thought… She thought of that, and she got to it before I did. Clever girl, now this was getting fun~

“Oh, Fairmont~” I slammed the door to my bedroom as hard as I could, wanting to make sure that she heard me from wherever she was hiding. “Don’t make your new mistress come and drag you back to bed with her… Be a good girl~” 

Silence. She was small and she was quick, wherever she was, I couldn’t hear her. But I was going to find her. Nothing she could do was going to be enough to get away from me. 

_Click._ I pulled my phone from my pocket and smirked, locking all of the windows and doors out of my house remotely. No way in. No way out. 

“Scurry back to mama cat, little mouse. I don’t want to have to cook you~” 

_Alright Fairmont, I’ll play this cat and mouse game with you._

But of course this is Aria I’m dealing with, she’s a lot craftier than she really ought to be, even if I know generally which areas of the house she likes to hang out in. 

Aside from the sound of Thea trodding her way across the floor, the parlor was quiet and empty. I looked under tables and chairs, behind couches and houseplants, but alas I found nothing. Even the fireplace housed no sign of her. No mouse in sight, or the cats would be playing with her. The broom closet was where I was really hoping she had been hiding, but it was full of nothing but cleaning supplies, like it always was. 

_Where would she think to hide?_

The foyer, parlor, dining room, kitchen, and hallways were too wide and open for them to be tenable hiding places. As was the lounge, even if it didn’t have a camera in it on account of me not wanting the location of my secret door to be caught on camera. 

_The cameras~_

The real question to ask here wasn’t where she would think to hide, but whether she was clever enough to know how to escape the cameras, because if she wasn’t the game was already over. 

I wasn’t going to check the cameras of course, because that felt like cheating, and I didn’t want my little hunt to be over so soon. But assuming that she **was** clever enough to avoid the cameras would allow me to very broadly eliminate most rooms in the house.

That would eliminate the gaming room and bathroom, the master bedroom and bathroom, the master bedroom’s closet, as well as Chloe’s cell and her bathroom. Aria wouldn’t be caught dead inside of Chloe’s cell anyways, so the thought of her hiding there didn’t even cross my mind. Much to Fairmont’s chagrin, this would also eliminate the pet bedroom and attached bathroom as possible hiding spots, even if it was her favorite room in my entire house.

The pet bedroom was Aria’s favorite room when it came time for finding a place for her to sleep, but it was also where she liked to destress and play, and that was probably down to her wanting to be one of my pets. But I didn’t even have to go inside to tell that there were no cats in here, which made me think that neither was she. She might have been a mouse, but even she wasn’t small enough to fit inside of the shelves or the cat tower. 

Besides, that would be the first place she would think to hide, and she was smarter than thinking she could get away by hiding in her usual spot.

I wasn’t one to just check all of my rooms blindly, I was going to deduce where she was as methodically as I could. Assuming she was avoiding the cameras, I could also eliminate the wardrobe room as a place for her to hide, but I couldn’t eliminate the laundry room. The laundry room didn’t have a camera in it, and that was for one reason and one reason only. 

_Does Aria know more about this house than she’s been letting on?_

It was unlikely but it was possible that Aria knew about the existence of the miscellaneous hidden doors sprinkled throughout my house, but unless she had somehow crawled underneath my bed when I wasn’t looking just to get to the secret door in my bedroom, there were only a couple of options available to her. 

I stepped into the wardrobe room, confirming to myself that she wasn’t hiding inside of it, but what I was really after was in the laundry room. The lounge didn’t have a camera in it because I didn’t want the secret door leading to the basement to be caught on camera, likewise, the laundry room didn’t have a camera inside of it because it houses its own little secret. 

I made my way over to the washing machine, but the shelf above the trapdoor hadn’t been moved, and it was unlikely that she would have been capable of moving the shelf back into position from below. But just to be sure, I moved the shelf and checked the hatch, it hadn’t been opened. 

_Now things are getting fun._

I might not be able to deduce her location after all, I was running out of locations, and that just made me even hungrier for her. Unless she had swiped my keys as well, which she hadn’t, she couldn’t get into the guest bedroom. I even opened up the secret door into the basement and headed downstairs, and there was still no sign of her. 

_Alright fine, be like that._

I sat myself down at the security console in the basement, growling angrily under my breath at the thought of having lost my prey. I powered on the monitors and slowly pulled up every room with a camera one by one. 

Foyer, parlor, hallways, kitchen, dining room, wardrobe room, master bedroom, master bathroom, master closet, the holding cell, the slave bathroom, gaming room, gaming bathroom, pet bedroom, pet bathroom. Nothing. **Nothing**. 

_Wha- How are you doing this?_

How could my pitiful and pathetic little weakling of a house mouse possibly outsmart me in my own home. She wasn’t in the broom closet, she wasn’t in the laundry room or the safe room, she wasn’t downstairs, and she couldn’t have gotten into the guest bedroom. She couldn’t possibly still be moving around the house, or else she’d be caught on camera. So unless she had managed to go outside before I had locked the doors, she had somehow found a place in my own home that was safe to hide from me. 

_She’s… she’s smarter than I am._

She was hiding from me in one of the rooms in my own home, hidden from sight. 

_Think, St. Clair, think. She’s just a stupid mouse, where would she be?_

_Where’s the last place I would think to look? Where’s the last place she would think to hide?_

_Where’s the last place I would think that she would think to hide?_

_The first place she’d think to hide. Where’s the first place she’d think to hide?_

I stomped upstairs, my breath getting faster and faster with each moment as I got closer to devouring my prey. She crawled through the fucking cat door into the pet bedroom, but I was able to just unlock the door and walk inside. 

“No wonder they’re not in here to bother you, you moved their bowls into the kitchen.” I stepped inside of the room, locking the door behind me so that she couldn’t get out. But I did leave the cat door unlocked for her just to make our little game more interesting. “I will give you this little thing, you gave me quite the run around.” 

Silence. There wasn’t so much as a peep from her, as expected. But if there was one thing that Aria was good at, it was holding her tongue, like she had done for the last four years. 

“You might not be small enough to hide inside of the shelves or the cat tower, but I know for a fact that there’s one thing in here big enough to hold a human being.”

I stepped towards the dog kennel, sitting myself down on top of the small cage. “I thought there was no way you’d hide in your favorite room, but I guess you really are smarter than me… that is until you decided to trap yourself in a cage for me~”

There was a blanket completely covering the dog kennel, partially to help keep the cats out of it, but mostly because I wanted to pretend it wasn’t there. I had gotten it for Chloe, so when she was taken away, I completely hid it from my own view so that I didn’t have to think about it.

“Out.” But the game of cat and mouse was over, and it was time to come out now. I held the blanket up and I opened the door for her. “Now.”

There were a few more moments of silence, and then a quiet whimper of indignation as my little mouse did in fact crawl her way out of the dog cage, on all fours no less. 

“You may have outsmarted me, I’ll give you that. But you’re weak, and in the real world that’s never going to be enough for you to escape. This isn’t an episode of Tom & Jerry, don’t ever think you can defeat me, **vermin**.” I stamped my foot down on her lower back, flattening her under my weight before she could get up onto her feet, trapping her beneath me. “Now be a good girl, and give me the controller.”

She grunted, still pinned under my foot as she placed the watch down on the floor in front of me, holding her hands back so that I could reach down and pick it up, which I did. 

“Now strip.” I lifted my foot off of her back and stood beside her, looking down at her cute petite little form. 

“But, Candace, I-” She gasped, looking up at me with a furious grimace on her face, grinding her teeth together. “I **won**.”

“I said strip, now do as I say.” I lifted my foot up off of the ground and kicked her upside the head, stomping her to the ground beneath my sole once more, but this time by pressing her face to the carpeted floor. “Unless you want me to crush your stupid little vermin skull beneath my foot, you’ll obey.”

“Yes, Ma’am…” She nervously complied, sitting up in front of me and slowly undressing without ever getting up to her feet. “I just thought-”

“There’s your first mistake.” I snorted, crossing my arms and tapping my foot impatiently. “Stop thinking~” 

“But I thought you were trying to be a better person?!” 

“This **is** me being a better person, moron.” I smiled, picking my foot up off of the ground and shoving my big toe in her mouth to shut her up. “Last night I subjugated some random woman off the street, but tonight I’m subjugating you, progress~”

I leaned down and held my hand out for her to hand me her clothes, and once she did I grinned, pulling my foot out from her mouth and sitting myself down on the sofa. 

“How is that progress?” She winced, crossing her arms over her breasts to hide them from me out of embarrassment. “How does me being the victim make this any better?”

“Because unlike Riley, you want this.” I smirked, folding her garments into a pile and setting them aside, just to keep them away from her. “And if you don’t want this, you can just leave.”

Aria looked up, her eyes flittering with excitement as she glanced over at the door and then back at me. “I can?”

“Of course you can, watch.” I picked up my phone and grinned, pulling up a floor plan of the house and letting Aria watch as I specifically unlocked the door out of the foyer before sliding my phone beneath the bundle of her clothes. “If you want to leave, leave.”

“Will you give me my clothes back first?”

“Of course not, where’s the fun in that for me?.” I giggled, shaking my head at her. “If you want to leave, you’ll crawl out of here through the cat door, and you’ll drive home naked.”

“That’s not the same as letting me leave-” She scoffed, her face growing bright red. “I don’t even have a car, I can not and will not take the bus, and I can’t drive home either.” 

“Sure you can, here-” I smirked, pulling my ring of keys from my pocket and holding them out in front of her. “I’ll even be nice and let you borrow my car~”

“R-really?” 

“I mean if you can get the keys from me, then sure~”

She blushed and thought it over for a minute, shivering with embarrassment. “And what’s **that** supposed to mean?”

“I’m going to have my fun with or without you, so if you’d just be a doll and help **me** undress, as soon as you get my cock out I’ll drop them, does that sound fair?”

“As long as you promise I won’t get arrested driving home…”

“You have nothing to worry about there, I assure you, you can get away with anything in a family vehicle. It’s better to drive home nude than have to spend the night in that kennel, right?”

Aria reluctantly but adamantly steeled her nerves, grabbing my leggings first and helping them off of me, followed by my lace boyshorts, which hid my still tucked but slowly hardening cock, now out in the open. 

“There. Your cock is out, now give them to me.” She bit her lip and held her hand out, her gaze pointed down, not out of respect to her superior, but because she couldn’t quite keep her eyes off of the prize between my legs. “Hurry…”

“Here you are~” I held the keys by the ring and lowered them towards her hand before dropping them, watching the the shocked look of awe and horror on Aria’s face as the ring holding all of the keys slid its way down the length of my cock, landing around the base of my penis while Aria was too busy staring at it. “Oops, I guess you’ll just have to go get it, huh?”

She snarled angrily at me, still resolutely flustered at the idea of having to pull the ring from my genitals, but having come this far- she resolved to do it anyway.

“Don’t you dare put your little mouse fingers on me~” I caught her by the wrist as she moved to pick up the keys with her fingernails, using my other hand to hold my fingers over the buttons of her collar controller. “Use your mouth, or I’ll electrocute you.” 

She couldn’t have possibly thought that this was going to be easy, but she clearly didn’t think it was going to be this hard either. At least not as hard as my cock was as she slid her pretty little mouth down the length of it. 

  
She choked and pulled herself off once, choking and gagging for breath before trying again. She wasn’t used to sucking cock, but if she wanted to be my date to Claudia’s party she was going to have to learn.

Her eyes rolled back into her head as she choked, tears rolling down her cheeks in pain as she caught the key ring by her teeth and pulled it off of me and spitting it onto the floor next to her as she gasped for air. Even I had to admit that the feeling of the ring touching the head of my member felt really nice. 

“There.” I bit my lip, letting a small moan out from my lips as I congratulated her. “That’s it, no more funny business. The doors are unlocked, you have the keys, if you want to leave, you can leave… you’ve earned it.”

And this time I meant it. I may have tricked her into sucking the keyring off the base of my penis, but that was all that I was going to force on her tonight. No full on sex, no rape, and no getting killed. If Aria Fairmont wants to leave now, she’s earned it. She just has to crawl through the little cat flap and drive away. 

“If my little mouse wants to scurry away, this cat is going to let her.”

“Mama cat’s just lucky she doesn’t have barbs on her cock, or she would have lost it all just now…” Aria glared at me from there on her knees, her fingers wrapped around the keyring as she huffed and puffed with reckless abandon, ready to do something stupid. 

Aria sure did have a furious beauty about her as she clung to the keys, having well earned her upcoming respite. “If I had penile spines like a real cat, I think you would be dead, little mouse.”

“Right…” She looked away, a flustered scowl of pain and humiliation swaying in the wind. “I’m leaving then…” 

And so she began to head out, slowly crawling through the cat flap and out into the rest of the house. She was so pretty too, I really did want to devour my prey, but I decided instead to be fair. Not only had she practically bested me in a game of cat and mouse, but she earned her way out by the means I had given her. 

I watched her on my phone, through the cameras, stopping her just as she was about to step out of the door. Not to reveal that I had tricked her and was going to keep her trapped, but to say what I needed to say before she left.

“Hey, Aria?” I held the phone up to my face, speaking through the intercom so that she could hear me. “I just wanted to make sure… do you still want to be my date to Claudia’s party?”

“What, you mean you’re not going to **force** me into it?” There was a stinging silence in the air after her sarcastic remark. “Because either way, the answer’s yes…”

“You mean you’re not mad?”

“I mean I am, but-” Aria scoffed, and I could tell just from her voice that she was blushing. “Thanks for giving me a choice tonight…”

“Hey, um…” She couldn’t see it, but I was smiling. “If you’re free this weekend, I’m going to be out of state with Tallie… and I kind of need someone to house sit?”

“Yeah, sure… I’m not really doing anything.”

“I appreciate that a lot… and if you’re down for it, I might ask Rebecca to make a house call for you~”

“A house call for what?” She paused for a moment, but being as smart as she was she quickly figured it out. “Wait, no. Let me guess- an IUD?”

“Right on the money as always~”

“Better that than choking on your cock every time we fuck.”

“If you say so, I happen to like it~”

“Yeah well I don’t… but I do like you, so maybe I’ll have to put up with it.”

I whined through the intercom for a moment, sighing under my breath. “You’re only leaving to spite me, aren’t you?”

“And I’m getting away with it too~!!”

I rolled my eyes and smirked, pulling my phone away from my head. “Goodnight, house mouse~”

“See you in the morning~”

I smiled and turned the intercom off, letting Aria slip through my fingers for tonight. They say that if you love something you should let it go, and if it finds its way back to you, that’s how you know it loves you back. If it comes back to you, it’s yours, but if it never does, then it was really never yours to begin with.

“Oh, Chloe…” 

I stared over at the quiet empty kennel and gripped the necklace she made me in my hand, holding my fist to my forehead as I sobbed quietly to myself. 

I wanted her back. I wanted her back more than anything in the world. But right now was one of those moments where I wished she wouldn’t. 

All I could think of was getting her back someday, but not right now. If I was ever really going to have her back, I needed to be better. I wanted to deserve her, and that meant that I needed to change. 

If I was ever going to welcome her back into my life, be it as a friend or lover, I needed to become a better person first. 

_I’m not going to take you for granted anymore, Chloe. If you decide to come back to me, I’m not going to be the same person who let you go._

_The next time you see me, I’m going to deserve having you back in my life. I promise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it sure does look like someone is getting her just desserts, now isn’t she?
> 
> I still think Candace’s little vermin is lying to her, and to you for that matter, about her thieving little paws, but if Candace can choose to forgive her, so can I.
> 
> At least until I find out that she really does have Charlotte’s Parcel, then I would lose my god damn fucking mind… How dare someone so puny as her come into my home and take one of my most precious possessions straight from my collection?
> 
> It’s even more disgusting and unthinkable than she is, and I hurl just as hard as she does thinking about it.
> 
> And if you are still holding out hope that somehow Candace and Chloe will be reunited at that party of mine, let me make you aware of the fact that the chapter you’ve just read and the one you’re about to read both take place on the 2nd of October… and I’ll give you the mental homework of hunting down the date of the party.
> 
> I promise you you’ll find it somewhere, I just won’t hand it to you. But I’ll give you a hint, look for the invitation… and while you’re at it, maybe go through and try and find some of that foreshadowing you might have missed.
> 
> Somebody sure does seem to be hiding something, now doesn’t she?
> 
> But I won’t spoil the fun by telling you who that mystery girl might be~
> 
> _Your lorekeeper,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_


	25. Weak At The Knees

“We get to sleep in beds…”

“Yeah, it kinda sucks that we don’t all get our own, I know.” Zenna made the bed for us, having gotten used to doing it every night anyways. “But I don’t mind sharing with you, really.” 

How and why were they all so nice and helpful to me? It didn’t seem right- they don’t know anything about me.

“I get to sleep in an actual bed for a change…”

Zenna smiled at that, she had a very pretty smile after all. She was a very pretty girl, they all were. 

Darcey’s smile was a little bit unfortunate, but she was still really cute. Her teeth were more than just crooked, they were malformed, with one of her teeth poking through her top gum above where teeth normally ought to be. She had a sort of disheveled look about her, her hair was messy and all over the place, and it almost reached her shoulders. Her hair was blonde, not dirty blonde like Claudia, platinum blonde like Candace, or ordinary blonde like Cyrus- but dyed blonde and always in her face. She wasn’t very smart, you could tell that by just looking at her- her dyed blonde hair even helped make her look the part of a bimbo.

Her hair was clearly meant to be a natural brown, she had deep dark brown eyes and brown eyebrows, the left of which was pierced with a single stud, trying to mask over the fact that she was missing a part of one of her eyebrows. But she was cute and there was no denying that. She had a fairly thin and flat nose, and red patches of skin on her face which looked very scratchy, and almost like she was a doll who had been stitched together with fabric of different colors. 

In contrast, Autumn looked fairly robotic. Her teeth were straight and uniform, almost scarily so, even her normally sharp canines and incisors looked fairly dull, almost shiny. Her skin was almost shiny too, with no sign of even the slightest of skin irregularities. She had a much more angular, almost pointy nose, and her eyebrows were quite thin, which made it seem like she was either feeling or showing very little emotion at all. 

Her robotic emotionless nature certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that she didn’t seem to blink very often, she had very pretty eyes though, bright emerald green. And when she did blink you could see a very small mole on the bottom eyelid of her left eye, which likely contributed to the fact that she didn’t blink very often. Her hair was equally uniform too, with a light brown french braid that hung straight down the length of her back, all the way down to her knees- ending exactly at her knees. 

And finally, Zenna was very pretty, as well as the most distinct looking of the three of them. Her head of dark brown hair reached down past her shoulders, except on the left side of her head, which was shaved down- with the symbol of a four leaf clover shaved into the side of her head. But what hair was there was a mane, a fluffy, healthy, luxurious mane. It was just too bad that the rest of her face didn’t seem to be as well taken care of as her hair was. Because despite her intimidating appearance, she seemed to be kind of a scaredy cat. 

For starters, she had a very round nose, thicker and sharper eyebrows than either of the other girls had, as well as teeth sharper and more dangerous than either of the other girls too. She looked scary and intimidating for sure, but you could tell that she really wasn’t- she was kind of a wuss. She walked around all day letting a five year old lead her by the hand and tell her what to do, she was too scared to put her foot down on anything at all, and it looked like she often ended up getting punished anyways. She had a scar on her top lip from where it had obviously been gashed open once upon a time, and under that hair that hung over the right side of her face, she had quite a few bruises. Zenna clearly wasn’t one who was good at standing up for herself. 

“Bedtime, girls. Let’s go~” 

We were being scolded by one of our master’s flying monkeys. This was apparently Claudia’s enforcer, Nell. She had only said their name once, but I had made sure not to forget it like I had forgotten when Candace said her sister’s name. 

_I belong to Candace’s sister, not Candace._ Was really the only thought in my mind at this time of night, I really needed to get some sleep, and I didn’t have the energy to figure out whether Nell was a boy or girl, let alone to argue with them. So the four of us nodded our agreement, and watched as they closed the door to our room and locked us inside for the night. 

“Nell will come and get us in the morning when it’s time to start working.” Zenna smiled, climbing into bed and making room for me. “Well, not you obviously, Master told you to sleep in tomorrow morning, but usually Nell will come get us~”

“Will they help me get my… uniform… too?” I had noticed that it was Nell who had taken the uniforms off of the other slaves before we had started settling into bed, and I was wondering what the story behind that was. 

“Maybe!!” Zenna giggled. “Nell is just the best at helping us get them on and off properly is all~”

“That makes sense.” I sighed, climbing into bed next to Zenna. I didn’t know her, and I didn’t really trust her to not kill me in my sleep, but it was my only chance to sleep in an actual bed- and I slept in bed with Candace St. Clair, didn’t I? “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Chloe!!!”

“Goodnight, Chloe…”

“Goodnight, Chloe~”

In one last show of how sweet the three of them were, they all couldn’t help themselves but to wish me goodnight in their own unique little ways.

↞✶↠

_How did I sleep through them all waking up?_

I climbed out of bed, examining the room around me- empty. Darcey, Autumn, and Zenna had already woken up and gotten to work by the time I was out of bed, and unlike last time they weren’t here to wish me a good morning, which I was a little bit thankful for. I was glad that they were being so nice to me, but it was a little bit overwhelming, and I shouldn’t be sleeping in a bedroom with three other women anyways. 

_Do you think they’re all gay too?_

I didn’t know who I was asking, I was just asking in my head, wondering to myself. This room was **much** nicer than the cell that Candace gave me by a long shot, even taking into consideration that I had to share it with three other girls. 

_Does she really trust me so blindly that she thought it was a good idea to leave me alone?_

It didn’t seem to make much sense, but I distinctly remembered seeing that Claudia hadn’t been wearing the controller to my collar that had been given to her last night, she had been relying on that fancy cane of hers. 

_Am_ **_I_ ** _really stupid enough to make an escape attempt?_

I didn’t know her capabilities, I didn’t know whether escape was even going to be possible, or where I would go if I did manage it- but it was still an option to try. I had never actually stopped formulating a plan to escape Candace after all, I just needed to start over with her sister.

And that begins with figuring out more about her house. 

Unlocked. I turned the handle to the door to confirm that it was unlocked, and it was. 

_Alright, what else do we have here?_

I turned back away from the door to examine the rest of our bedroom. It was kind of narrow in width, but it was much longer than that, a lot more rectangular than square. Across from the door back out into the hallway enough, on the other side of the length of this room, was oddly enough, another door. 

_Where does that go?_

It should have been obvious to any normal person living in any normal bedroom that the answer was obvious, but not to me. It was a bathroom, of course it was a bathroom. You can’t just lock four girls up in one carpeted bedroom overnight and not give them access to a bathroom, that was a little too much to ask for. But nevertheless, I appreciated it immensely, having a bathroom connected to my cell was something I had never even dreamed of when I lived with Candace. 

I exited the bathroom once I was done powdering my nose, and I turned to the right. The room was actually kind of shaped like the letter L, and there was a small little alcove off to the side of one end, and another door.

Unlike my cell back at home- err, with Candace- this one had a window, but looking inside was enough to be able to tell that it was most definitely a cell. The door did open up too, and unlike my old cell, it didn’t lock behind me. But unlike my old cell, there was still somehow another door on the other side of the cell, but this one was neither unlocked nor did it have a window to peer inside of it. _Dead end, drat._

There was only one way to go from here, back out into the hallway, now that I had exhausted my other options. I wasn’t going to avoid Claudia per say, but I wasn’t going to go looking for her either, but if she asked- I totally was looking for her. 

Immediately turning right in the hallway took me to a dead end and another door, locked. I’ll have to go the other way- and there it was.

The ballroom. It was absolutely massive, filled to the brim with extremely fancy furniture, paintings, fireplaces on either end, tables, chairs, sofas, televisions, it was extremely overwhelming. There was even a balcony on the second floor that allowed one to look into the ballroom from above, it just unfortunately came at the cost of losing a lot of floor space on the second floor, which I guess is her prerogative. 

Connected to the ballroom was her massive dining room, which we had eaten in last night. There was no door separating the two, just a massive, open, and very fancy archway. But above that archway was a set of portraits. One of Claudia on the right, one of her wife on the life, and one of their daughter in the very middle. 

I kept myself wrapped in the blanket which I had stolen off the bed and I stepped inside of the ballroom, admiring it in all of its beauty. 

Opposite the dining room, on the other side of the ballroom, was the foyer. But on either side of the ballroom hung two other portraits. On the left side of the ballroom hung a portrait of her mother, Lilith, over the fireplace. Across from that of course, on the right side of the ballroom, was a portrait of her father, Cardinal- the head of their family and the reason I had been taken away from Candace- on the opposite wall from her mother’s portrait.

It took me a moment to realize it, but that portrait of her father was on the other side of the very same wall from our bedroom, and that made my stomach churn. Whatever, I tried to ignore it and move on, walking across the ballroom away from where I had started, until I got closer to the doorway into another hallway and noticed that there was a much smaller portrait of Claudia’s brother- Cyrus. 

I whipped around as fast as I could and sure enough, there it was, exactly across the wall from the portrait of Cyrus on the wall next to his mother, was a portrait of their little sister Candace, on the very same wall as the painting of her father. Which meant that it was also on the other side of my new bedroom wall. 

_Damn it. I’m never going to escape her._

If you step into the house from the foyer, you’ll reach the ballroom, and on the other end of the ballroom was the dining room. Just before you reached the dining room however, was a hallway that ran perpendicular to the entryway, and attached to that hallway off to the right was the bedroom designated for Claudia’s slaves. So what’s off to the left of the ballroom?

“Well hello there, dear.” It was a woman’s voice, one that most certainly wasn’t Claudia’s, but one that I somehow recognized. “What in the world are you doing here?”

“Miss Mariam. My apologies… I-” That was her last name, Mariam. Lilith Mariam. I wasn’t staring at a portrait of Claudia’s mother, I was actually staring at Claudia’s mother as she sat down on the couch of a rather impressive side room. “Please don’t tell Candace…”

“Is Candace here with you, then?” Oh no. She didn’t know, and I couldn’t have her letting her daughter know who I used to belong to.

“Please don’t mention her name, Ma’am.” I bit my lip, desperately lowering my gaze to show her respect. “Miss Claudia doesn’t know…” 

“Miss Claudia doesn’t know what, sweetie?” I quickly looked up, seeing Claudia stepping into the room from the other end. 

“N-nothing, Master.” I bit my lip and took a deep breath, quickly making my way over to her. “You just don’t know what to do with me yet… that’s all…”

“Well before I can do anything with you I need to get that cute little body of yours into a uniform~”

“Yes, Ma’am. Of course~!!” 

“But first-” Claudia smiled, turning to her mother and tossing something across the room straight at Lilith. “If you’re going to smoke that, take it outside this time, please?”

Lilith smiled at her daughter as she slowly stuffed the package straight into her jacket pocket so that she could get up. She might not have been a decrepit woman just yet, but she was still old enough to need help to her feet. She’s in her very early sixties, if I had to place an exact guess, 61. So I did what any helpful slave would do to help her master’s elderly mother, I darted to her side and took her by the arm, slowly and safely helping her up off of the sofa and back onto her feet. 

“Here, let me-” I smiled, eagerly doing what I thought was right, and my master seemed to appreciate it. As soon as I made eye contact with her she smiled back at me, nodding in approval as I helped Lilith to the door. 

She had a cane just like her daughter’s, but unlike her daughter, Lilith had a prosthetic leg attached to her left knee, something which I hadn’t noticed about her when I first met her. “See dearie, I told you the girl was a doll, did I not?”

“Pardon?” Claudia responded.

“Oh nothing, just make sure the slave doesn’t run out the door after me.” Lilith smiled, having to reach up to pat her daughter’s shoulder as she headed for the door behind Claudia.

And Claudia did just that, motioning me towards her with one finger to make sure I was within arm’s reach of her. 

The door out of the room seemed to lead into a little vestibule, a small room between the exterior door leading into a building and the doors leading into the rest of the building. It’s why a lot of buildings have two sets of doors, largely to help regulate temperature, but in this case it also helped to make escape more difficult for slaves. 

“Have you met my mother before, Chloe?”

“Not that I can remember, Ma’am.” Lying. I didn’t exactly like to lie, but I did like to think that I was pretty good at it. 

“Right, well this way is to my office.” She pointed at the door that her mother had left through, and began to lead me there. But instead of heading outside, she began heading across the vestibule towards another door into the building, presumably into her office. 

But I stopped, frozen inside of the vestibule as I looked outside, towards freedom. Lilith was out there, leaning against the outside wall of the house for support as she smoked. 

“Is something the matter, girl?” Claudia tapped me on the shoulder, snapping me out of it. 

I looked up towards her and then back towards her mother, staring outside. “It’s nothing, Ma’am. I just… haven’t been outside in ages.”

“We’ll get to that eventually I’m sure, hell maybe we’ll even get to go swimming eventually, I had meant to go to the beach this summer, but never really got the chance.”

“That sounds nice, Ma’am.” Maybe if she would take me to the beach I would be able to swim away to freedom. “It’s October, right? It’s not too late is it?”

“Chloe.” Claudia pointed me towards the door to her office, her hand on my lower back as she gently nudged me inside. “Come on, inside~”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I shot one more glance out the window at her mother, watching her exhale a lung full of gas again, it wasn’t smoke as far as I could tell, but I didn’t know what it was. “I’m sorry for speaking out of line…” 

“Patience is a two way street, I suppose.” She helped me take a seat, still too early in the morning to get upset. 

“Thank you, Ma’am… I’ll be more respectful.”

“Very good~”

Her office was a pretty big room, not quite as large as the sitting room we had just left, but certainly not small. I was highly tempted to dash back out of the room and head outside as she walked across the room to her desk, but I stayed still and behaved. 

“Do you know what this is, slave?” She held up a bundle of what looked like leather gear. 

“Is it my uniform, Ma’am?” I hadn’t seen much of the other girls in their uniforms, but they were certainly pretty to look at. 

“That it is indeed~” She tapped her cane once on the floor before setting it aside. “Up.” 

As soon as I heard the **thump** of her cane on the floor I was on my feet, still completely naked in front of her like I had been since I had gotten here. “Where should I put my hands?”

“Hold them above your breasts, cutie~” Claudia smiled, watching me do so before turning me around, gently feeling my skin as she ran her hands over my sides. 

The intense gentleness that followed was something that I couldn’t quite bear. She was a larger woman, my life was now filled with larger women, not only in size but in power. 

Something was wrong here. This should hurt, this should feel uncomfortable, this should make me tremble. But it wasn’t, and that scared me. 

_She doesn’t see me as a threat._

It was plain and simple, I posed no danger or threat to her. She didn’t feel the need to have security measures in place to keep me from hurting her, because unlike Candace, she was confident that I couldn’t hurt a hair on her head even if I tried. 

“Why are you getting so close, Ma’am?”

I felt offended, appalled that she would treat me so innocently, as if I was nothing at all to her. I’m **not** nothing, I could do some serious damage if I really tried, just like I had done with her sister. What exactly possessed her to so underestimate me- or overestimate herself?

“Are you not afraid of me lashing out?”

“Are you thinking of lashing out, Chloe?” She asked, but even as she entertained the idea her touch remained the same, firmly gentle- controlling and confident.

“I’m just thinking hypothetically, Ma’am. I would never-”

“Weak.” I could feel the creeping terror of her fingers curling into the skin of my waist, revealing that oh so terrible truth that lied in the void between her and I. “You’re stupid and weak.” 

Putty in her hands, that’s what she was playing with. Not a human, but a slave. 

“You’re stupid and weak, you know this.” Playing, she was playing now, kneading the folds of my sides with her fingers and her knuckles as she dug deeper and deeper, making her presence known within me. “I can call you these things and more yet you will not raise a finger against me, not here, not now, not ever- and that’s not simply an order, that’s an unavoidable truth of your existence.”

Claudia pressed further with her words, having a power in her touch and in her words that could not be contradicted. Yet there were still no words within me to bite back with. Fear could keep a creature in line, and bondage could keep them in place, but Claudia needed neither of these. 

“I can read your mind, Chloe. You know you’re no threat to me, so don’t pretend to be.”

“I’m not pretending.” I fell into her, her claws firmly planted into my waist. “The last time my master underestimated me, I drew blood.”

“I’m sure you did.” Her touch was still firm and strong. Undeterred. “But I’m no weakling like your last master-”

“My last master was **not** weak!!”

“Maybe not in strength, but in mind and heart- yes, she was.” She pried her claws out of me, drawing blood of her own with her nails to show what she was capable and unafraid of doing. “Listen and listen good, Chloe. Because this might just save your life-”

“You know what you are. I know what you are. A lost slave still in love with her first master, struggling to see her for what she really was, refusing to see yourself for what you really are-”

“Don’t underestimate me.”

“I’m not underestimating you, Chloe. This isn’t me refusing to believe that you could harm me, because there are about a million methods in this room alone through which you could kill me outright. **This** -”

She gently placed her hands back onto my skin, pressuring them just enough to keep the scratches from continuing to bleed, but refraining from causing any further damage. 

“This isn’t me thinking that you wouldn’t harm me, this is me **trusting** that you won’t.”

It felt like a million tiny needles were digging their way into my skin as she said that, letting her words destroy me. In just a few seconds my skin was covered in goosebumps.

“Why would you trust me so blindly?”

“Because it’s not as blind as you might think… after all, the quickest way to break you is to let you break yourself… and then I’ll have you forever.”

“But why-”

“Anything and everything that happened between you and your previous owner no longer matters, and it will never matter again. Whoever she was, whoever she is- I don’t care… so I’m not going to ask. I don’t want to know.”

“She’s not weak-”

“Any master who would let go of their slave is weak, Chloe. I have had many many many slaves die at my hands, but I have always held on to a part of them… I always cherish them forever.” She took her hands off of me, leaving me frozen there as she retrieved my uniform. “Any master who is too sentimental to kill their slaves, or let them fall into the hands of a new owner, is weak. Chloe. Your last master is weak, just like you.”

She held up a chocolate brown leather corset, wrapping it around me perfectly casually as she continued to speak, tightening it onto my waist and cinching it shut, tying it off in the back. The corset concealed my waist and my waist alone, leaving my breasts completely exposed. 

“Whoever she was, she doesn’t love you, and she never did- or else she wouldn’t have let you go.” She ran her fingers over the corset, getting dangerously close to my breasts, but never quite getting there. “And if **you** really loved her, you would have done everything in your power to stay with her, but you didn’t… so you don’t.” 

“Ma’am, I-”

“I’ve told you this once already, and I’ll say it again… but make sure this is the last time I ever have to do so.” **Thump**. Her cane landed on the hardwood floor again, quickly silencing me. “Whoever she was, she can’t reach you anymore, I’m your world now… and you can trust me to never let go of you like she did.”

This was a kind of abuse that I had never suffered from Candace. A lack of cruelty at her hands.

“You **can’t** trust me, Ma’am… I can’t handle your trust…”

“Sure you can.” She smiled, turning me back around to face her. “Now let’s get the rest of your uniform on you~”

↞✶↠

I was like a puppet in her hands, doing exactly as I was told, letting her dress me up like a doll.

The rest of my uniform was composed of a pair of thigh high fishnet stockings, which had the effect of appearing to be the same color as the rest of my uniform. Along with it was a matching garter belt, which sat at my hips with a frilly translucent skirt attached, barely concealing my vagina. There was a pair of fingerless fishnet gloves as well, which reached past my elbows. 

“Hands above your tits, doll. Keep them out of my way.”

They worked well and looked nice together, but there was one final piece to pull it all together. 

My fingers were trembling as she brought them closer to my still exposed breasts, made to look even rounder than they usually did thanks to my corset. 

I let out a painful sigh of indignation as she attached them to my areola, like tiny little bear traps clamping down on my nipples, featuring a single bronze chain that hung between them.

Claudia admired the nipple clamps, twisting and tightening them onto me as she extracted more humiliated moans, desperate for her to stop, but unable to stop her. 

“There, how does that feel?”

“Awful.” I had angry tears in the corners of my eyes as I stared up at her, unable to bring myself to smile. “They feel awful, Ma’am.”

“Good~” She smirked, forcing the angry look on my face into a defeated scowl as she yanked on the chain between the clamps, pulling on my nipples. 

My jaws flew open, a silhouette against the backdrop of day as a silent scream escaped from me, instantly dropping to my knees in pain. But the most evil sensation of all wasn’t the pain of almost getting my nipples ripped right off of my body, but the feeling of the clamps digging back into me after it was over, as if nothing had happened at all. 

She lowered herself to her own knees next to me, gently rubbing my upper back as I struggled to breathe. “Something to say, girl?”

I shook my head desperately, the angry tears dripping onto the floor beneath me as I pleaded, leaning into her for support as I reeled. “No, Ma’am… I’m sorry…”

“The first one is always one of the worst, but you’ll get used to it.” She rolled up her sleeve and grabbed my palm, holding my hand with hers and letting me squeeze for support. “You’ll get used to it here, I promise.” 

“Why…” I squeezed her hand as hard as I could, not trying to hurt her, but for support. She was right, I was no threat to her, at least not right now. “Why do you want me?”

“I don’t really know, dear. It is a little unnatural I think.” She ran her fingers through my hair, gently petting my head. “You know I used to hate little fags like you~”

“H-huh?” I squinted at her, glaring up at her beside me. “Wh-what?”

“But I guess nowadays I have a thing for little gay girls.” She sighed, admiring my pretty little body. “I blame Josephine~”

“J-Josephine?” I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself. “Is she my… other master?”

“Right. You haven’t met her yet, have you?” She grinned, pulling me to my feet by the hand. “Would you like to?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Please…” I didn’t know why I was saying that, I didn’t really care, it just felt like the correct thing to say. 

She continued to hold onto me, leading me by the hand out of her office via the vestibule again, back into the sitting room, heading towards the other end of the house. I dragged my feet, trying to slow us down, but it unfortunately didn’t do very much.

“Do you know what a dumbwaiter is, girl?” I stepped back inside the slave bedroom first, being led towards the small cell that I had discovered this morning. 

“A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator for delivering food, isn’t it, Ma’am?”

“That it is, but we use ours for delivering slaves to our bedroom~” She smiled, opening the door into the cell and following me to the locked door on the other side. 

“Is that what that is?” I bit my lip, watching her open the door for me to step inside of the small wooden elevator. “You have an elevator attached to our room?

“Connecting your bedroom to my own, yes.” She stood outside of the door, leading me inside of it alone. “Up you go, slave.”

“Are you not coming with me, Ma’am?” 

“I’m afraid not. I have work to do and my mother is currently getting high~”

“Can I not just stay with you, Miss?” I found myself protesting this at the last moment. “I’m sorry for misbehaving earlier, I won’t do it again-”

“I forgive you, darling. But I asked if you wanted to meet my wife, and you said yes, so off you go~”

“I thought you were going to be coming with me-”

“But **this** is going to make a much bigger first impression.” She smirked. “Why, are you shy?”

“I’m not shy… I’m just-”

“Nervous and scared, yes. I can see that.” She tapped her foot impatiently, pointing her cane at me and forcing my backwards into the tiny cramped little elevator so that she could close the door. “But I want you to meet my wife, and that’s an order.”

 _Right… Come on, Chloe. What’s the matter with you?_ I sighed under my breath, bowing for her in submission. In the heat of how nicely she had been treating me, I almost forgot that I was a slave. “Yes, Master. Good luck with your mother.”

↞✶↠

Going up. Claudia didn’t say another word after that, she simply pressed a button and sent the dumbwaiter crawling its way upstairs with me inside of it. 

I shut my eyes and leaned my back against the wall, balling my hands into fists, months worth of anger bottled up inside of me, unable to escape. I slammed my hands against the wall, trying to unleash my sleeping fury. I only had a few moments to myself, but they were sacred to me. The few moments I could get to myself where I was completely alone were always going to be my lifeline, how I kept myself sane. 

_This isn’t fair, this isn’t fair, this isn’t fair!!!_

I pounded my knuckles against the wall, not making so much as a dent, luckily. At least when I was with Candace, I felt like there was meaning to it all, like it wasn’t just bad luck, it was fate. But now I just felt lost, useless, angry. My life no longer had meaning, and that was what hurt the most. 

There was no rhyme or reason to finding myself in her claws, it was all meaningless and random, bad luck and circumstance. There was nothing there, at least Candace and I had a **history** together, but not Claudia. I didn’t know Claudia, and I probably never really would. 

_Ca-chunk._ The small elevator finished its ascent, landing on the top floor and ejecting me into my master’s bedroom. 

_Holy shit, is that… me?_

I blinked in disbelief, staring off at her on the bed, like looking in a mirror. Whoever she was, she looked just like me. “I… excuse me?”

She hadn’t noticed me yet. She was just laying there reading a magazine and relaxing, wrapped in a bundle of blankets. But as soon as she heard me speak, she looked up. “Hmm?”

I whimpered quietly as I stepped into the room, slowly walking towards her. “Master wanted me to, umm- come in and meet you?”

She squinted at me for a few moments, her cheeks slowly turning pink as she set her magazine aside and fetched her glasses from off of the bedside table to get a better look at me. “Oh… well hello there~”

“H-hello~” I waved awkwardly, trying to stand up straight, keeping my gaze down. “Is there anything I can do for you, Miss-”

“Josephine.” She smiled, beckoning for me to come even closer than I already was. “And you can start by introducing yourself~”

“I’m Ms. Mariam’s new slave… my name’s Chloe.” I couldn’t get much closer than climbing in bed with her, so I did, watching her make room on the king size mattress for me. “It’s nice to meet you-”

_Way to go, moron. You were supposed to make a good first impression- not whatever the fuck this is._

“Well I’m afraid this is a little awkward, I’m not exactly wearing pants under here-” The woman, Josephine, didn’t just look like me, she acted just as awkward as I did, if not more. “I hope that’s alright with you~”

“That’s just fine, Ma’am. Really.” I sighed, smiling at her, unsure of what to do with myself. “If I’m interrupting something, I can just-”

“Do you know any tricks, Chloe?” She interrupted me, tossing her magazine into the drawer next to her, no longer having a use for it. 

“Excuse me, Ma’am?”

“My wife said you were like a show dog, right?” The look in her eyes slowly turned from intrigued to hungry, and I knew exactly what that meant. “She just won’t stop talking about you, you know~” 

“I… I know lots of tricks, Ma’am~” I smiled, blushing ever so slightly. Honestly, I never thought being flirted with by someone who looked just like me would be so exciting before. “Would you like me to show you some?”

“I mean you did kind of… **interrupt** me~” She got all flustered, looking away from me and giggling under her breath. 

_Oh… so that’s why this is so awkward…_

My face quickly turned bright red as I stared into her eyes, for once getting extremely embarrassed on someone else’s behalf. “I… I didn’t realize you were-”

“Masturbating?” She chuckled. “Yeah, rich upper class aristocrats masturbate too, fun fact.” 

“Should I head back downstairs then, Miss?”

“I think you should do the opposite of that, Chloe.” She smirked, her face overcome with a condescending smile as she eyed me expectantly. “Never stepped face first into a room if you’re not prepared to **serve** , lovely~”

I didn’t even know who this woman was, but honestly, even sex would be better than having to blindly stumble my way through any more awkward conversations with her, even if she was also being a lot softer on me than I wished she would. 

_Why are they all being so unnecessarily nice to me??? It doesn’t make sense??? I hate this???_

I didn’t want softness, I wanted a firm, strong grasp to take control of me and command my every thought and movement- and Josephine wasn’t that, at least from what I was now seeing of her. I’m sure there were slaves out there who would love having a master like her, but amazingly, I wasn’t one of them. 

_If she’s not going to be tough on me… then maybe I can be tough on her~_

It was time to make a statement. Claudia underestimated me, and I was growing to hate that. If I wanted her to see me as anything more than a weakling, I needed to prove myself to her, and unbeknownst to her, she gave me just what I needed to do just that.

“Spread your legs, Ma’am.”

I may have addressed her with a title, but my tone was anything but respectful, and she could tell. Still, it was what it was, my way of trying to assert myself within my own space. No more awkward talking, no doing tricks like a dog for her, if she wants sex from me she’ll get it. But she’ll get it in whatever form I was willing to give it to her.

She was surprised to hear me using such a firm tone with her, but she didn’t seem to know how to combat it. “What was that?” 

“I said spread your legs.” I answered, repeating myself as firmly as I had the first time, letting her know that I meant business. Sure enough I could feel her spreading her legs beneath the blankets a moment later, just like I had told her to. **I** was somehow the one telling her what to do, smirking proudly as I tore the blankets off from on top of her and tossed them aside. 

My eyes grew wide with desire as I saw it, her cock. That made a lot of sense actually, Claudia had a lot of strangely ignorant tendencies, which might be explained away by her being a closeted lesbian who ended up getting married to an equally closeted transwoman, before both of them eventually grew enough to come out of the closet together. 

What? Is that **not** obvious? I kind of thought it was, but I am smarter than a lot of people. Pffft, come to think of it, I’m probably smarter than a lot of the people reading this, capable of understanding strangers at a glance. That’s not really something that you can say you’re capable of, huh?

Yeah, didn’t really think so~ 

_Mine._

I let her grab me by the head and pull my mouth onto her cock, but even while I technically left her in control of what was happening, I was the one in charge here. 

Would I preferred to not have to suck her cock? Maybe a few months ago, sure.

But sex was meaningless now. The way that it had been used around me wasn’t for any sort of intimacy, but as a means of asserting oneself. As a competition, to see who was better-

And Josephine obviously wasn’t going to be much of a challenge. 

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss?” I turned and picked up a waste basket, spitting her cum back out of my mouth without swallowing it, making sure she noticed that little fact as I did so. 

The whole affair wasn’t even worth **describing** , that’s how short lived, and frankly kind of pathetic it was. Claudia was quite clearly the Mistress of the house, and her wife was just another woman who was submissive to her, even if she wasn’t a slave. But unlike the other slaves, I wasn’t going to be submissive without it being earned from me, which meant I wasn’t about to get topped by Josephine. 

“I’ll… take that as a no, then?”

She whined under her breath, shaking her head no, her face hidden behind her hands as she sat there, still recovering. “N-not really…”

A cuck. Claudia’s wife was a cuck- and I didn’t say that to be insulting or offensive, honestly!! 

That was just what she was into, and that’s just fine. I couldn’t be allowed to kinkshame, I was guilty of fetishizing people thanks to my cock obsession, I had no room to judge. It was fun, but it was no fight, she lost pretty handily to me. 

It was fun in its own way, but sexual submissiveness wasn’t something she was going to get from me, and I honestly would prefer to have someone to put me in my place.

 _I wish Candace were here…_

Ugh, there I go again. I really was a stupid, weak, pathetic moron- just like Claudia said that I was. I knew she didn’t care about who my last master was, but I had to tell my new master about Candace eventually. 

“I can get the dumbwaiter for you, hon…” At least Josie was a nice lady, genuinely nice rather than Claudia’s condescending niceness that she has about her. 

She was meek, kind of like me at times… I guess we really did have more in common than just looks. But maybe I have more than her in the way of authority. “Actually Ma’am, I was maybe thinking that we could walk down the stairs together?”

She opened her mouth, seemingly to protest, before deciding against it. “I’ll… get my bathrobe…”

↞✶↠

“And what exactly is **this**?”

Claudia stared us both down as we stepped into the sitting room together, a smug grin painted onto my face, and a bright pink blush glowing from beneath Josie’s cheeks. 

“You didn’t…”

“I couldn’t help it, honey.” Josie sighed, shaking her head and whimpering at her wife’s discontent. “She just kind of… went for it.”

Claudia wasn’t amused. I had just topped her wife, and I was proud of myself for it- but she clearly wasn’t happy to hear that it had happened, especially so soon and so quickly. 

“Do you think this is funny, slave?” She was smirking, but she wasn’t happy. “You seem awfully proud of yourself, especially for something as bad as disrespecting my wife.” 

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say anything. I had no excuse. 

“I’ll take care of her from here, Josie darling.” Claudia planted a loving kiss on her wife’s lips, rubbing their noses together as she saw her wife back off to their bedroom. “And as for you…”

I held my breath as she turned around to face me again, not about to just fold beneath her weight again. I needed her to see that I **was** a threat, and that I wasn’t as weak or stupid as she thought I was. 

“So… you’re that desperate, huh?” She turned, one hand on her hip and one hand on her cane as she loomed over me. “Fine. If you want cruelty, I will give you cruelty.”

I tensed up, bracing myself for impact, and I was **not** disappointed. Claudia brought her cane down over my head, and she brought it down hard, sending me to the floor on my knees in an instant. But she didn’t stop there.

“If you think that disrespecting my wife is even remotely acceptable behavior for a subhuman little animal, then you have a difficult lesson to learn, I’m afraid.”

She swatted the back of my head with her cane again, and when I went to cover it with my hands, she beat them in too.

But it was just pain, I had suffered a lot of pain at her sister’s hand, and this was nothing new. At least she now understood that I was no pushover, no matter how much of one she wanted me to be. 

_Click_. I heard the sound of her cane affixing itself to the back of my collar, and I instantly understood what that was. 

“I will give you about one minute to apologize and beg for forgiveness before I completely electrocute you to death, pixie~”

“Wait, what?!” My heart suddenly kicked on, thumping out of my chest, panicking. 

“What, you thought you could misbehave **on purpose** and just get away with it, without dying?” She chuckled and sighed, shaking her head at me. “You’re not a threat to me, slave, no matter how hard you try to be… and do you know why that is?”

No… she wouldn’t… I didn’t want this, I just didn’t want her to underestimate me… And I guess I was getting just that. “Wh-why?”

“Because I am **your world** , Chloe. If you don’t make me happy, you **die** .” She pressed down on the cane, refusing to let me even lift my neck off of the floor. “You count on me for your survival, but you have to **earn** that, dear.”

“I- I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” I whimpered under my breath, on the verge of tears. “I thought you said you love your slaves…”

“I do love my slaves, Chloe. I have loved each and every one of them from the moment I got my hands on them to the moment of their death and beyond. But like I said, any master too sentimental to **kill** their own slaves is weak, and **_I am no WEAKLING._ **”

 _Click._ That was the sound of her cane detaching from my collar as quickly as it had attached itself.

“Now tell me… are you going to do that again?”

“No, Ma’am!!” Fuck. This woman really wasn’t afraid to kill me. “I’ll never treat myself like I’m above her… I’m sorry…”

_God damn it. God damn it. You stupid moron. Why can’t you ever do anything right?_

I found myself beating my forehead against the ground as quickly as I found myself crying, refusing to grovel there at her feet. 

“If you don’t wish for me to underestimate you then you ought not underestimate me, dear…” Claudia sighed, shifting from her angry tone to a more disappointed one. “Like I said, I have had many slaves die at my hands… and to this day I still miss every last one of them, I mourn them all… but I am not afraid to get my hands dirty.”

I bit my lip, slowly rising up onto all fours so that I could look at my master, so that she could see the tears in my eyes… I needed to show her those tears if she was going to forgive me. “I’m sorry…”

“And you’re forgiven.” She picked her cane up off of the ground and slowly held it away from me, making sure that I knew it was still there. “But I will have law and order in my home, and I will not accept you coming into my house and disrespecting my authority, especially after I went out of my way to save your life.”

“I still don’t understand…” I groveled at her feet, whining for her forgiveness. “…Why do you even want me?”

“I want to give you what you want, Chloe.” She leaned down in front of me, cradling my chin with her hand and lifting my eyes up to meet hers. “That’s what I’m after… giving **you** what **you** want.” 

“I-” I stared into her eyes, getting lost in that horrendous blue ocean of hers. “I don’t want this.”

“Yes you do.” She held me there, wrapping her fingers around the head of my collar. “You want to be put in your place… so that’s what I’m doing. This is me putting you in your place.”

I took a deep breath, and then another, and another, and another. 

And then I lunged forward, pressing my lips into hers for a kiss, hoping she would be generous enough to let me steal one from her. 

She was~

“There’s a good little slave.” She licked her lips as she pulled away, rising to her feet, never once taking her eyes off of me. “Understand your place, Chloe. You are **not** a real person, and I will not treat you like one.”

I lowered my head once again. I understood my place, I was just desperately hoping that things would be different here. But they weren’t. “Yes, Master…”

“Now come on.” She sighed, taking me by the hand. “Let’s go show my wife how good you are at submitting~”

↞✶↠

“How is this fair?”

As soon as she figured out what was going on, Josephine protested, but it amounted to little more than pouting from across the room. 

“If you’re punishing **her** then why are you making me sit back and watch?”

Claudia was kind enough to put me back on her leash, not literally, but effectively. I was led straight back upstairs into her bed with her, evicting Josephine and exiling her to her vanity at the other end of the bedroom. 

“Just because I’m punishing the slave for disrespecting my wife doesn’t mean **I’m** not allowed to disrespect my wife.” Claudia snarked back at her. “You’re still a cuck, after all~”

“I’m not seeing things am I?” I shouldn’t have been surprised that Claudia’s wife was going to end up being submissive, but I was still surprised at just how similar we looked. “We look… really similar?”

“You can say that again.” Claudia seemed to be beyond thrilled by that fact, it was almost uncanny how many similarities we had between each other. “You two aren’t related, are you?”

“Unless she’s some long lost cousin or something, probably not.” Josephine giggled, admiring herself before glancing at me in the mirror. “But if I didn’t know better, I’d think she’s my little sister~”

“Well don’t look at **me**.” I retreated away from Josie’s gaze. “Orphan, remember?”

“Either way, it’s just a lucky coincidence~” Claudia eyed her wife across the room, blowing her a kiss. “Now just hush up and watch, my love.”

Josephine sighed and rolled her eyes. “Have fun you two~”

_Well at the very least, this will be a new experience-_

“Ghhhck~!!!!!” Claudia decided to start by choking me out, of all things. She wrapped her hand around my neck, squeezing my throat with her hand as she slammed me onto my back on the bed beneath us. 

“Hold your tongue, beastie. That’s my wife you’re looking at over there.” She smirked, tightening her grip around my throat and pressing down on me, strangling the air out of my lungs. “She’s **mine**.” 

So this was my punishment for having sex with her wife, getting put back in my place in the bed that they share. I struggled desperately, gasping for air that never seemed to come to me. 

“Awww… what’s wrong, slave girl?” Claudia cackled, lifting me up by the skin of my throat before slamming me back down. “Not feeling **feisty** anymore~?”

“Please…” It took the last of whatever I had to let out even the shortest of please before she tightened her grip even more, preventing me from breathing completely. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.” She smirked, bringing her face to mine and stealing a kiss from my lips as she kept me away from being able to breathe. “I don’t speak **_worthless_ **, you know~”

I gritted my teeth, feeling my face turning red from the heat escaping me. I grasped at her wrist with both of my hands, but she was too strong, and there was nothing in the world that could pry her fearsome claws from my flesh. 

“Stand down, little thing.” My little stunt only served to tighten the force of her oppression upon me. “You belong to me, I’ll do what I want to you, so **stand down**.”

I whimpered, unable to breathe, unable to pry her off of me. She left me with no choice, obey. I stood down, putting my hands beside my head, palms up, to show her that I wasn’t fighting back.

“Keep whimpering and I’ll let you breathe~” I watched her smile, maneuvering herself over me and pressing her knee down on top of my crotch, squeezing and crushing my quim beneath her weight. “Keep squirming and I won’t.”

Louder. She wanted to hear me whimper louder, so I whimpered louder just for her. To appease her, to please her. To earn my place in bed with her. And what did I get for that? What was my reward for humiliating myself beneath her weight? 

Getting the opportunity to struggle for breath in her grasp, being allowed the most miniscule little pipeline for life within her cruel claws… and I was endlessly grateful for it. 

“Atta girl~” She kept a firm grasp around my throat, rubbing my vulva by crushing down on me with her knee as she watched tears running down my cheeks. “Just know you aren’t getting out of here until you’ve cried tears of fear and horror.”

She grinned, leaning down and lapping up a couple of tears from my cheeks. “These are tears of pain, I can **taste** the difference~”

I would growl through my teeth, but that would just make it worse. Though, being who I am, I certainly couldn’t bring myself to smile at her while she was torturing me. 

“Oh come on now~” She taunted. “If I wanted tears of pain, I’d just do this.”

She tried to insist that the first one was always one of the worst, but as she curled her cruel fingers around the chain of my nipple clamps and pulled, this time was much more painful. 

Tiny hideous metal teeth pierced the skin of my areola and bit down, trying to tear off a piece of me for dinner. I cursed words that I shan’t be permitted to repeat through my still strangled windpipes as I cried out for help, squirming beneath the weight of her hands and knees as I had been directed not to. 

_No!! No no no no no no no no!!_

She held my life in her hands and decided to have some fun with it, tossing up into the air and watching it fall back down, very nearly letting it shatter on the floor again and again and again. 

I wanted to reach out and catch it before she could have a chance to abuse it, to take my life back into my own hands and out of those who wished to do me harm, but I couldn’t.

I didn’t have the privilege and I didn’t have the right to hold my life in my own hands. It didn’t belong to me, it belonged to her. That’s what it meant to be a slave, at least to her, the right to my own life was fundamentally lost to me. It belonged to someone else entirely. 

The only things I gripped in my empty hands as they lay open on the bed beside me were trust and submission, things given by her and allowed to me on the promise of leaving my life to her. I lived in that cruel reality, but even though she didn’t have to, it was a cruel reality that she let me live in, and I was at least grateful to have any reality to live in at all. 

“Someone’s forgetting to say thank you~”

I was thankful to have a life to be held, even if it was out of my own hands.

“Th- thank you, Ma’am-” I forced the words out of me, through my choking airways and empty lungs. Giving her what she wants. Not just the words, but the tears. 

I could suffer through the pain and the torment, but not the aching realization of feeling her dangle my life over the precipice, ready to drop it into the abyss like Candace never really had been. She wanted the tears of fear and horror, and I wasn’t strong enough to withhold them from her any longer. 

Beneath the weight of her knees and on my own, I was weak. In her hands and at her feet, I was weak. With my life in her grasp, I was weak.

I felt a sharp intake of air enter my lungs as I gasped for breath, ever so briefly freed from the grasp of her claws. But it was the last breath I would get before she finally smothered me. 

She shifted her weight, moving her body off of my torso, slamming my chest down to the bed as she crawled upwards.

I desperately stared up at her for a moment before watching her fade out of view, watching and feeling her bury my face in her carnivorous, waiting, serpentine cunt- choking the air out of me anew. 

I could be in control with my mouth, but not now, not with her. She wouldn’t let me. She grabbed me by the hair and yanked my neck upwards, slamming her hips down onto my face as she began to ride. 

Claudia bucked her hips and thrashed her slit into me as she relentlessly fucked my face. My whole head had been engulfed by the skirt of her dress, like a snake, swallowing me whole. And she wasn’t about to let me go. 

_ASukbjh;bjhblhj;iajlnkba;oknfleka,;j.ckm.aiunvkjsjbjjklsvhbshibjkkhakjgssasashaksjlckl;k._

My thoughts were a jumping mess of syllables and letters as the gears in my head got stuck again, like someone had smashed a bunch of random keys on a keyboard, that’s how quickly my thoughts were leaving me. 

I let out a muffled squeal straight into her skin as I felt myself losing consciousness beneath her, deprived of both air and mobility as she pinned both of my hands down above my head with her own. 

“And you tried to insist that I should be scared of you.” She huffed and moaned through her breath as she taunted me. “I have nothing to fear from a cunt cushion who can’t even stop me from humping her like a pillow.”

She kept going, never letting up, never slowing down, letting the torture go on and on until she was satisfied. 

“Now be a good dog, and **eat**.”

 **Thump**. She slammed the palm of her hand down onto the bed beside me. It might not have been her cane, but it was enough to draw submission and obedience out of me. 

Before I was aware of it, I was licking the inside of her cunt like I was told, the only thing I was capable of doing from my current position.

_Eat. Master wants me to eat. So eat._

I pressed my whole mouth against her vulva, my teeth rubbing against her clit as she pounded me with her hips, driving herself towards orgasm on top of me. 

“That’s it… good girl… keep going~” She hummed happily, her entire body vibrating. Now we were getting somewhere.

Praise. I liked praise, especially when it came from the lips of gorgeous women like her, it meant that something I was doing was making her happy. That’s what I was after, making her happy. I had nothing to strive for in life anymore, except for her. I was going to find happiness somewhere, even if it came from pleasing Claudia Mariam. 

Even if I died trying, I was going to please Claudia Mariam. 

“Good girl… Good girl… Come on, keep crying~” 

I so desperately wanted to be fucked and raped back into place, and here it was, just like I had asked for. This woman has some fucking issues, but to be fair, so do I.

She moaned loudly, arching her back and slamming herself down on top of me as hard as physically possible, climaxing on my face and continuing to ride it out until it was over. 

She hummed with pleasure as she listened to the sweet sounds of my voice coming from beneath her, sobbing loudly out of fear and pain, but also out of satisfaction, feeling her cum directly on top of me. 

“Good girl, Chloe…” Minutes later she moved, sitting herself on my chest so that she could continue to watch me sob beneath her, trying to bury my face in her thighs again. “You did very well…”

“Y-y-yes, Master… th-thank you…” I choked, biting my own tongue as I whimpered and squirmed beneath her, gasping and heaving for breath. “I-I’m sorr- sorry… it won’t ha-appen again…”

“No, it won’t.” She grabbed my newly pointed ear in her hand and gently rubbed it with her fingers. “Now be a good girl and sit still for Josie, she has something for you… as punishment for falling out of line~”

And I quickly learned what it was that my master’s wife had to give me.

_A chastity belt._

“No, please, Ma’am!!!” I curled my fingers into my hair and the maddening sensation of cold steel being clasped around my waist. “Anything but that, I’m begging you…”

“Silence, girl.” She growled at me, pinching my ear to help get me back in line. “You aren’t in any position to question your treatment, are you?”

“N-no, Ma’am!! But-” I growled angrily, still crying loudly. “I can’t!! I can’t!! I need it- I need **you**.” 

“And you have me you sweet cute little dyke-” She snarled, taunting me with her hot breath on my skin as I felt the device being locked onto me. “But you don’t deserve release tonight, or any night really… not until I decide to give it to you.”

I was so desperate and horny for her, wanting nothing more than to slam my own hips down into her face like she had to me, but she wasn’t going to give that to me. I didn’t deserve it after my performance. “Y-yes, Master…”

“You’re forgetting something again, Chloe~”

I bit my lip and hid my face in my hands, sobbing desperately beneath her hips in the light of her cunt post-orgasm, wishing she would give one to me as a reward for my performance. “Th-thank you, Master…”

“There’s a good girl~” 

_Click._ Claudia’s wife finished with the locks just in time. “Don’t I get an apology and a thank you as well, slave?”

Claudia moved off of me, forcing me to sit up, leaning into her and burying my face in her chest for support as I continued to cry.

“I- I’m sorry for being a horrendous retard and a failure and thinking I could ever be above you, Ma’am… I’m so sorry… I won’t let it happen again.” The mental abuse and mistreatment was getting to me, enough to get me to insult myself with words I wouldn’t think to use on another human. “Th- th- th- thank you for putting me in… in chastity… Ma’am…”

“And you will remain in chastity until your master tells you otherwise~” Josephine was at least a sweet enough woman to slide over to me and give me a kiss on the cheek to try and tell me that it was alright. “Now get out of here and get some rest, I think you’ve cucked me enough already.”

“Do as she says and rest, the girls will come get you for dinner.” Claudia sighed, prying me from her chest and sending me on my way. “And take the dumbwaiter this time, I don’t want you ever walking through my bedroom door again~”

“Yes, Master… thank you…” I grinded my teeth together and rose to my feet, letting Claudia walk me across the room. 

“And hey-” We stopped just outside of the elevator door, as Claudia briefly lowered herself to be eye to eye with me. “Be a good girl and I’ll get you out of that belt in no time, okay?”

She held her pinky out towards me, condescending, treating me like a child- like a lesser. But that’s what I was, a lesser. So I took it.

I bit my lip, taking her pinky with mine and nodding desperately, my other hands grasped at and tugging on the chain between my nipples, not yet ready to be done with the pain. “Promise. Promise. I promise I’ll be good.”

“You’re grounded for the rest of the day.” She smiled, satisfied that she had done her work with me for today, and that I was finished as well. “That just means no more working~”

“Thank you, Master…” I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to free myself from my own tears. 

Claudia was about to say something in return, but before she could I fell into her, wrapping my arms around her for a hug. “Hey… there there, you aren’t in any more trouble, promise.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I smiled, burying my face in her shoulder as I felt her arms gently holding me in return. “Thank you…” 

“Now off you go.” She let go, gently leading me back into the lift to the room I was forced to share with the other girls. “It’s my turn to have my wife, and I don’t want you accidentally getting yourself in any new trouble.”

“Of course, Mistress.” I smiled and stepped inside, hiding my face out of embarrassment. “Thank you for reminding me of what I live for…”

As soon as she closed the door on me, I was whining and struggling against the chastity belt that she had forced me into. I wasn’t even being allowed the satisfaction of going back to my room and fucking myself at the thought of her. 

_I have to get this thing off of me._

I finally had a new mission, to somehow get out of the belt as soon as possible, and to do that meant earning my way out of it and being let out. It meant behaving. 

“So…”

“What happened???”

“Tell us how it went~”

All three of my fellow slaves were waiting for me to return as I stepped out of the elevator and back out into our room, giggling and gossiping to themselves as they eagerly awaited my arrival. 

“I don’t know, why don’t you take a look and tell me how it went~”

I bit my lip and grinded my teeth as I looked over at them all, unable to keep myself from smiling ever so slightly as I lifted the hem of my short translucent skirt for them all to be able to see the belt I was now wearing.

“Looks like it went great, huh???”

“I’m not surprised~”

“Sounds about right…”

The girls only giggled at me seeing it, but it didn’t feel like they were mocking or making fun of me. It felt like they were three girls who had all gone through the same thing before and came out on the other side just fine. 

“Just ask Master-”

_You’re going to be just fine, Chloe… I’m going to be just fine~_

I smiled, letting go of my skirt and letting out a sigh of relief. If nothing else, at least I had the three of them to relate to, and I was going to make sure that they had me for as long as I was here with them. 

“I think I made a pretty good first impression~”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean my girls look like they belong in the land of Oz???
> 
> Even if they do have their quirks, they're all beautiful women, and shame on you for even suggesting such a thing. 
> 
> I'll have you keep in mind that you won't be getting your face buried in my cunt if you continue to insult my slaves, so let's just hold our breath and hope dear old Dorothy here doesn't receive the same fate as the last little pretty who fell to pieces in my hands.  
> Though if you ask me, I think Chloe is more of a Toto anyways~
> 
> _Your wonderful witch,_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_


	26. Play Along

Candace does seem to be away for the weekend, now doesn’t she?

Oh well!! That just means there’s more time for me-

Me as in Claudia, not me as in Chloe, the stupid little slave girl hardly has the self-awareness to be able to narrate like I do, so I guess that just means your stuck with me for this chapter. 

But worry not, dearie be, I’m always entertaining~

Where was I anyways… oh right, playing with one of my slaves. “Roll over, dear~” 

Zenna got down on her belly, doing a full roll onto her back and then back up onto all fours, even despite the painful nipple clamps attached to her chest. 

“Now roar like a cat, little lion.” 

Zenna whined, but she complied, getting onto her knees and roaring loudly, like a pathetic little lion waving her front paws in the air for her master’s entertainment. “Grrraaawwwrrr!!”

“She’s like a cat, Mommy!! Look!!” Lilian pointed at Zenna’s pitiful display from sitting in my lap, giggling to herself. 

“That she is, sweetie. Isn’t she cute?” I smiled, gently running a hairbrush through my daughter’s hair. I often sat with her in her room and made her nanny do tricks for her and I to enjoy, it was always fun to watch Zenna make a fool of herself on the floor at our feet. 

“She is! She is! Can you make her crawl under the bed and hide there?” Lilian could not stop giggling, pointing at the nanny slave to see her do more tricks. 

“Yes, of course darling.” I snapped my fingers and pointed at the bed beneath us, it was always fun to do this with little Lilian because she came up with the most wonderful little ideas sometimes with that starstruck little brain of hers, I just couldn’t get enough of hearing her suggest things that I would never even think to think of. “Under the bed.” 

Zenna smiled, bearing her soft little fangs for us to see before crawling under the bed to hide like she was told… like she was instructed to by a five year old. Of course her fangs didn’t look soft, they were rather sharp, but Zenna was harmless, especially to Lilian and I. She was an obedient little cat doll, one who I had trained to smile happily when being ordered to submit, and it was working quite nicely. 

“Kitty!” Lilian giggled, no longer able to see Zenna now that she was hidden away beneath the bed. She tried to hop out of my lap and back onto the floor to follow her, but she couldn’t exactly escape my grasp even though she was my daughter, I needed to finish doing her hair before leaving her to play with the slave. “Can we get a kitty, Mommy?” 

“Probably not anytime soon, sweetheart.” I smiled, finishing with her hair and tying off the second of her little orange braided pigtails. “Besides, we already have pets to play with~”

“Like Nanny!” Lilian giggled, pointing down at the floor. 

“Yep, just like Nanny.” I smiled and sighed, letting her hop out of my lap and back onto the floor. “You may come out now, Zenna.” 

Zenna did just that, climbing out from under the bed and instantly being climbed on top of by a five year old. The slave knew that when she was told that she _may_ do something, she was really being ordered to do so, quietly and without complaint. “Are you leaving now, Master?” 

“I’m afraid I have to, yes.” I chuckled lightly, admiring the little display in front of me. 

“Yes, Master. Have a nice day at work.” Zenna winced slightly, being more than a little bit rough handled by Lilian as my daughter climbed onto her back to ride her without asking. 

“But Mommy!” Lilian pouted, frowning as she looked up at me on my slave’s back. “It’s the weekend…” 

“It is the weekend, I know honey.” I sighed, smiling down at her to try and console her. “But Mommy has important work to do today~”

“Are you gonna be home tomorrow, Mommy?”

“Of course I will be, Mommy wouldn’t leave for the whole weekend, promise.”

“Okay, Mommy…”

“Be a good girl.” I smiled and gave my daughter a kiss on the forehead, before scratching Zenna behind the ears. “Both of you~”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Zenna smiled, lowering her head in reverence. “I’ll watch over her until you return.”

“See you tonight Mommy!!”

“See you tonight girls, I’ve got to go~” 

I stepped out of Lilian’s room and back out into the hallway, heading down the stairs to make one last stop before I did finally leave for work. 

_Now where in the world would she be…_

I pondered it over in my head trying to figure out where Chloe would have gone, getting about halfway down the stairs before stopping and turning back around to head back to my bedroom upstairs. 

“Oh, Josephine, darling.” I opened up the door to my bedroom and stepped inside, glancing over at the very luxurious bed that my wife didn’t like to leave unless she had to, and sure enough there they both were. 

“Hello, beautiful.” Josie smiled, waving at me from at the foot of the bed, sitting down next to the other, slightly smaller redhead girl. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I was just leaving.” I grinned, turning to the girl next to her and glaring her directly in the eyes. “I was just looking to have a word with her before I left.”

“Are you talking about me, Ma’am?” She swallowed nervously, smiling at me and lowering her head, her face flushed with embarrassment. “I was looking for you as well~” 

“Oh really?” I chuckled, tapping my cane on the floor. “I didn’t see you come up the stairs.” 

“I took the dumbwaiter this time, Miss.” She kept her gaze pointed downward while it wasn’t needed. “Like I was told to.”

“Good girl.” I hummed, seeing the improvement in her actions over just one day. “And why were you looking for me?” 

“To apologize for last night, Ma’am.”

“And what are you doing in bed with my wife?” 

“We were gossiping, honey.” Josie stepped in to defend the girl, giggling at me and rolling those gorgeous green eyes of hers. “We’re talking about drag shows right now, in case you’re wondering or getting jealous of our _private_ conversation~”

“Oh yeah, and how’s that going?”

“She’s a fan~” Josie gave Chloe a look out of the corner of her eyes, still facing me, which made the slave blush. “Of drag I mean, not of mine.” 

“You haven’t done shows in years, sweetie~”

“I know… but I might be thinking of getting back into it, never too late to try, I’m only 32~” 

“Oh gosh, please don’t remind me that you’re my brother’s age, he’s 32.”

“He’s a few months older than me, too.”

“I remember!! Stop making me feel old~!!”

“If you want to feel old, just remember that he doesn’t have any kids yet-”

“Alright alright, I’m leaving!!” I sighed, tapping my cane on the floor once before pointing across the room with it towards the slave elevator. “Chloe, come on.” 

“M-me?” Chloe glanced up nervously, hopping to her feet and nodding. “Am I coming with you?”

“Just downstairs, but yes.” I continued pointing at the door to the dumbwaiter. “Of course, you won’t be taking the stairs~” 

“Y-yes, Ma’am. Of course.”

“Hop to it, slave.” I watched her jump to her feet, my wife rolling her eyes and following after, helping her into the dumbwaiter and slowly sending her downstairs. 

“You didn’t have to steal my entertainment for the morning, did you?” Josie rolled her eyes, getting ready to climb back into bed. 

“I have plans for her~” I snarled eagerly, wanting to make Chloe as desperate as possible. “Hand me some of your favorite magazines, won’t you?” 

“I see where this is going.” She giggled, gathering a stack of dirty magazines and handing them off to me. “You’re going to drive her insane, you know?”

“I know, that’s my plan.” I took the books from her and kissed her on the cheek before waving goodbye. “I’ll be home before dinner~!!”

“You had better be!!” 

_Now let’s give this cute little lesbian a run for her money._

I caught the kiss that my wife blew to me as I headed back down the stairs to find Chloe. She was waiting for me of course, she had gotten downstairs first but I at least knew she wouldn’t be wandering through my house. The dumbwaiter didn’t exit straight out into the slave’s bedroom, it exited into a small little cell between the elevator and the bedroom, and that cell was currently locked, she had stepped into a tiny trap that I had laid for her. 

“Come on you two, give her some space!!” I scoffed as I stepped into the slave room and rounded the corner towards the cell. The sister slaves, Autumn and Darcey, Josephine’s slaves, were sitting just on the other side of the cell, looking in on her as she sat there on the floor. “Cooking, cleaning, and entertaining my wife- chop chop, go.” 

I sent them away very quickly, watching the brainless Darcey and the heartless Autumn skip and saunter out of the room respectively. 

_Don’t make her uncomfortable, give a dog a bone girls._

I sighed making sure they were gone before opening up a small hatch between her little cell and I, peeking in at her sitting cross legged on the floor, quickly adjusting her position to a kneeling bow as soon as she saw me.

“Am I in trouble, my lady?” My lady, that was new to hear from her, I like it. “Because I wanted to apologize for my misbehavior last night.” 

“Yes, I do recall your misdeeds at the lady Josephine’s feet last night, but you were and are forgiven for that.” I smirked, sitting casually on the floor and admiring her. “The chastity device is its own thing now~”

“Yes, Ma’am. Thank you for punishing and forgiving me…” It was cute how she thanked me for her punishment, but it was clear that she wasn’t thankful for the belt around her waist. 

“That belt isn’t just there to punish you and stop you from having any more prohibited sex with my wife, though that is certainly one advantage of it.” I grinned, making sure she saw me reach inside and press the tip of my cane to the front of her metal chastity belt. “It’s also to prevent you from playing with yourself~”

She looked down at her, shivering with terror and delight as she was suddenly electrocuted by the belt, squeaking loudly at the pain. 

“You’ll be able to go to the restroom with it on, but unless you’re a fan of having anal orgasms, you won’t be able to pleasure yourself with it on… and I would be surprised to find out that you have a prostate, to say the least.”

“I don’t, Miss.”

“Good to know… I have the only key, so have fun with your new little torture toy.” I pulled back my cane, reaching into the cell and dropping a stack of magazines onto the floor for her to read and enjoy. “Have fun with these magazines today, I’m leaving you locked in here for my own enjoyment, which is really your only job- to entertain me.”

“Y-yes, Ma’am… thank you…” She stared at the stack of porn, swallowing nervously and trying not to let her hands drift down between her legs. 

“You can get into the bathroom from either the cell or the bedroom, but only from one at a time. Entering through the cell will lock the door to the bedroom door from the inside and the outside until you leave through the door back into the cell, and vice versa. Your fellow slaves won’t be able to reach you in the cell by going into the bathroom, only the latest door to be open from the outside can be opened from the inside.”

“I understand, Ms. Mariam… thank you for letting me know.” She continued eyeing the stack of magazines, unsure of whether or not she should even flip them open or not.

“My colleagues call me Ms. Mariam, Chloe… and you are not one of my colleagues, are you?”

“N-no, Ma’am… I am not.”

“So what do you think you should call me instead?”

“Master. I should be calling you Master.”

“And you have been trying to avoid that, haven’t you?”

“I have. I’m sorry… I’ll do better about it from now on.”

“Then go on, show me what you’ve got~”

“Yes, Master. Thank you for putting me back in line, Master.”

“That’s a good girl…” I smiled, slowly rising to my feet and closing the hatch to her cell. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to my actual colleagues now. They deserve my attention much more than you do~”

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

It was always dreadful to have to leave my mansion on the weekend, but I had important work that waited for me at the plant- **_plaaaaaa_ **\- 

Place of work. At the office. That’s what it’s called, an office. 

A simple slip of the tongue, nothing more, nothing less. 

I worked at an office, that’s what we’ll call it, an office.

I had important work that waited for me at my place of work, the office. 

And my chauffeur was already waiting at the car for me to drive me to work. 

“Working on the weekend, really?” Russel Ross, my chauffeur and lackey, was a middle aged white man with a full beard, often wearing a pair of aviators and dressed in a suit. Most of my lackeys wore suits while out in public, even the women. Especially the women, they wore whatever I told them to, and I happened to think that the ladies looked gorgeous in a nice tailored suit. 

“Yeah yeah, I’ve heard it all already, Ross. Let’s go.” I climbed into the car, opening the passenger’s side door for myself like a normal person, eager to get to work already. “You aren’t high already, are you?”

“Not yet, Ma’am.” He chuckled, getting behind the steering wheel and kicking it into gear. “Why do you ask?” 

“Because I am.” I fumbled for the cigarette in my suit pocket, having hollowed it out and replaced its contents so that I could smoke in public. “At least I would like to be.”

“I can smell that, yeah. What, is it not working?”

“Not exactly, no.”

“I thought that shit was supposed to be strong?”

“It **is** strong.” I sighed, rolling down the window so that I didn’t fill the car with gas. “But amazingly, Josie and I are almost numb to it already.”

“Wow, already?”

“Yes.” I sighed, breathing in the fumes as I lit the cigarette, holding up my hand towards the driver for just a second while I held the gas in, before breathing it out of the window. “But at least it’s been working for my mother.” 

“Lilith, you mean? I thought your mother only smoked the normal shit?”

“She did, but I guess either dying has opened her eyes to new possibilities, or she’s just in that much pain to the point where she needs cannabis to keep it together.”

“Your mother is dying???”

“Yeah. I found out this week.” I took another hit, holding this one in longer in the hopes that it would be more effective. “She went to the doctor about her chest pains, and they told her that the cancer had relapsed. She’s got until the middle of January to live.” 

“That’s horrible, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, she hasn’t exactly been the best mother anyways. She always liked Cyrus a lot better than she liked me.”

“Yeah, but you’re a daddy’s girl, right?”

“I would like to be one, yes. But daddy likes _Candace_ better.”

“He likes who better?”

“He likes my little sister, she’s his favorite.”

“Wait, you have a little sister too?” 

“I- eugh…” I sighed, needing to take another hit before being able to continue this conversation any further. “My baby brother, Cardinal the second, is my baby sister now… she goes by Candace.” 

“That’s awesome.” He grinned, nudging my shoulder with his right elbow. “Tell her congrats from me.”

“Will do, Russel. We’re almost there, right?” I sighed, examining the cigarette in my hand. “I never really pay attention enough to know how to get places.”

“Don’t worry about it, that’s my job.” He chuckled and adjusted his sunglasses, not seeming to mind. “Richmond drive’s a ways away though.”

“Then pick up the pace, I want to get this over and done with and get back to my family~” 

“You know this **could** have waited until Monday, right?” He shrugged and picked up speed, the only reason for him to go below the speed limit being the fact that I had my head halfway out of the window. “We could have just kept her in a holding pen for the weekend.” 

“I’d rather not wait if I don’t have to, I might not be able to afford it.” I sighed, having no qualms with the increased speed when it came to smoking in the car. “She could bite her tongue off and kill herself before I get to her.” 

“I highly doubt that, Ma’am.”

“Look, there’s no reason to keep feeding her if she’s not going to do her work, if a slave needs a prompt talking to, then that’s what they’re going to get… sooner rather than later.”

“Fair enough, Ms. Mariam.” 

“Which one is she, anyways?”

“#6113, Ma’am… Martha Moss.” 

“Martha Moss… Martha Moss…” The name rolled off of my tongue really well, it just wasn’t one that I recognized. “I don’t remember that name… who is she?” 

“Just some nobody who works in cultivation.”

“Is she cute, at least?” 

“Would she be getting a talking to from you if she wasn’t, Ms. Mariam?”

“Fair enough.” I chuckled, bending the cigarette in half and tossing it out of the window into the aether. “I’ll teach the little thing to learn her place and appreciate her job, that’s for sure.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” Russel was getting at least a little bit excited, I could tell. “Do you want another smoke?”

“Do you **have** another smoke?”

I turned to him and he turned to me, pulling another cigarette from his coat pocket and holding it out towards. “Just get me another one to replace it?”

“Pfft, please, I’ll get you ten.” 

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

“Have someone clean up in there, preferably non-essential personnel… I don’t want anyone important to waste their time with her.” 

I stepped out of the cell, satisfied that I had done a good job dealing with the troublesome slave woman. 

“How did it go, Ma’am?” The head of the… _office_ skipped right on up to me, Violet Zachary, my personal favorite henchwoman, bright and chipper as always.

“Let’s just say you won’t be having any more trouble with her, I assure you.” 

“She’s learned her lesson then, Ms. Mariam?”

“You can **definitely** say that.” 

She tilted her head for a moment, almost like a curious little monkey, before skipping over to the window into the cell and looking inside. She wasn’t chipper for very much longer, because once she saw what was inside, she went wide-eyed. “What in the world did you do to her, boss?” 

“Boss???” I chuckled, making my way over to her and grabbing her by the hip, pulling her to me. “Please, **boss** is what my slaves call my enforcer, you can call me Mistress~”

“Oh come on, you.” She pushed herself away from me, giggling and shaking her head. “I’ll go get you the tape, _Mistress_ ~” 

“I would appreciate that, yes.” I grinned, stepping over to one of the adjacent walls and leaning against it as I watched her skip away, just as chipper as she was when she had gotten here. 

I would pull out another blunt to smoke, but there was nothing quite as powerful from the drugs that could match the buzz that I got from what had just happened in that room with that slave… and I needed Violet to bring back the footage with the recording of what went on in there so that I could relive it again and again… that would be better than any high the marijuana could give me right now, so I guess the cultivator slave was good at giving me a nice buzz after all. 

“Here it is, #6113B, just how you like it.” She held it out to me, a big smile painted on her pretty lips. “On a VHS cassette~” 

I eagerly grabbed it from her, kissing the outer shell before putting it safely into a box, and then into my bag. “I guess little Martha Moss belongs to me now~”

“I think all of the worker slaves belong to you, Miss.”

“Effectively yes, but _technically_ they’re all family property… you know, my father’s?”

“How is your father doing nowadays anyway?”

“Oh he’s doing fine, he’s had some troubles with my little sister here and there, but he’s doing alright.”

“Your little sister?”

“Oh my god, yes. My little brother is my little sister now. I’ll give her your congrats, thank you.”

“Wait, your father really let Cardinal transition?”

“Yes, yes he did. Amazingly, I know- but we all support her.”

“That’s great to hear. Does your mother-” She stopped herself, quickly switching to offering condolences. “I um… I heard about your mother…”

“Oh come on, she’s not dead yet.” I smiled, smacking her on the ass one last time before I left. “We’re having a party for her next month and you’re invited. Bring Russel.”

“Whatever you say, Miss. Have a nice day~”

“And you too~!!” 

Russel drove me back home, a bundle of fresh drugs in his coat pocket as he dropped me back off at my mansion for the evening. 

_Hopefully I didn’t miss dinner…_

I stepped into the vestibule, turning right and heading into the sitting room, rolling my eyes at who I saw there waiting for me. 

“Oh my god, you’re not still here, are you?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Claudia. You didn’t really expect me to leave before dinner, right?” She held her hand out expectantly, her other hand still clutching her cane, clearly out of discomfort and injury. “Give.” 

“Keep them.” I rolled my eyes, but smiled at her, tossing a whole bundle of cigarettes at her this time rather than just one. “Stay however long you’d like, but take those home, you don’t need to keep hanging out here just to get drugs, mom.”

“I know that, honey… don’t blame me for wanting to spend time with my daughter before I pass away.” She coughed, struggling to get up onto her feet. “But if you want me to leave, I’ll leave.”

“Stay the night mom. It’s fine.” I smiled at her, trying to let her know how much I cared about her. “Leave tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or not at all, I really don’t mind… I love you mom.”

“And I love you too, sweetheart.” She smiled, and I smiled back, before turning back into the house to find my new prey. 

_Right. The slave._

She was still in her pen, right where I left her, staring longingly at magazines- she was just that weak. Even if she couldn’t touch herself, she still wasn’t strong enough to keep herself from looking at the porn magazines I had given her to entertain herself with, and I had been counting on that. 

“Good evening, little thing.” She was apparently too enthralled by the magazines to notice me approaching at first, but once I began opening the door she scrambled to attention, on her knees and grovelling for her new master.

“Good evening, Master. Welcome home, how may I serve you?” She stared down at the floor, not at the magazines, but at her own knees.

“Have you been rehearsing what you were going to be saying in your head for a while now?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I won’t lie to you, I have been…” 

“And what have you been looking at?” I tapped my cane on the ground a couple of times before pointing it at her, keeping her at bay while I got to check out what pages the magazines were all currently open to, and they were all currently open. 

She blushed, watching me slide all of the magazines across the floor to my feet via the cane, but despite her embarrassment she didn’t stop me, even though she clearly wanted to. 

At first it wasn’t too terribly interesting, there were a lot of magazines to go through, Josephine was way too into them, and a lot of them were open to pages with women that I hadn’t really even looked at. Then a few of them started to seem familiar, pictures of women that I recognized, pictures that Josephine liked a lot. 

And then a slightly disturbing pattern started to emerge, with a lot of the magazines flipped open to pictures of a very specific woman. She was a woman that I knew all too well, and I recognized all of these pictures, having looked at them a lot. 

There were a lot of them there, but if a magazine had a picture or article with her on it, Chloe had successfully flipped the booklet open to it. None of them were naked of course, the gaming model didn’t often do shoots naked, if ever, but there she was.

Candace. Chloe had a lot of them open to pictures of my little sister, Candace. 

“There she is.” I smiled awkwardly at her, beginning to collect the magazines at my feet, sliding them away from. “There’s my sister…” 

“If I may ask, Master…” She was blushing, unsure of how to approach the topic. “Why do you have so many naked pictures of your sister?” 

“I’d advise you to keep that mouth of yours shut before you say something that upsets me, Chloe.” I blushed, picking a stack of them up off of the floor. “One, I got them because my sister is in them. Two, I haven’t seen her in years. Three, I wanted to check up on how her transition was going, maybe see if she had gotten the surgery yet… and four, they’re not **all** porn magazines, some of them are special printed versions of online gaming publications, articles about her and whatnot.” 

This had been an extremely terrible idea. I had known that my sister was in a lot of these magazines, but I hadn’t expected her to fixate on that fact. But nevertheless, I began flipping through the numerous magazines, trying to move past her modeling photos to get to said gaming publications. 

Now there were quite a lot of magazines with her in them, that was true, and the vast majority of them were pictures of her mostly naked, that was also true, but my points still stood. I flipped past a lot of them, mostly with her alone, but some of which with that gorgeously stunningly little mouse friend of hers, Aria. 

And I eventually found one of the gaming magazines I had mentioned, grabbing it out of the pile and pointing it at her. “Here, see… like this one.”

She just sort of looked at me, not blankly like the empty-headed Darcey often did, but with a thoughtful confusion as she glanced back and forth between me and the magazine. “I… I know, Ma’am… I was just reading that before you came in…” 

“Right, well… there you have it then.” I turned it back around towards me and set it back on the pile of open magazines in an attempt to block out all of the porn of my little sister behind it. “I should take these back upstairs then…”

I couldn’t help but stare down at the still open magazine featuring an interview with her from around two years ago. I could have closed all the magazines of course, but I didn’t really want to, I wanted to have my own look at my little sister when I got back to my office and the slave had already done the work of finding her pictures in the magazines for me.

Or rather… I had done the heavy lifting for her, because it was at this point that I remembered… I had bookmarked all of the pages with her on them. 

“Right, **she** took this picture…” I frowned, staring at the article of my sister in the gaming publication. “I had forgotten that that… sewer spawn wrote this article…” 

“Sewer spawn?” She looked up at me, her eyes wide with a sudden surprised look of fear painted on her face. “Who is that, Miss?”

“Sophia Cavalier.” I snarled, I had never met the girl but I recognized the name, and I didn’t really like her. That was a person that I probably hated even more than I hated Candace’s mouse friend, because at least she forgave Aria. “I forgot that her rival wrote this article…”

She broke, the cogs in Chloe’s brain broke as she stared up at me. “S-Sophia Cavalier?”

“I’ve been keeping up with what my sister has been up to, obviously… loosely.” I scoffed, shutting the magazine and tossing it back onto the floor next to the slave, it wasn’t a porn one anyways, and I didn’t want to read that article anytime soon. “Keep it.” 

She blushed, gently closing the magazine and clutching it to her chest. “Y-yes, Ma’am…”

“Can you believe that in just two years those two went from doing occasional interviews together, to being public best friends, to worst enemies?!” I scoffed, grinding my teeth together at the thought of it. “How dare she have the nerve to beat my sister in the world championship?!”

“I… I… I… I…” Chloe, still broken, just began to stutter. All she could suddenly manage was that word, all the while staring up at me. “D- d- do you know what she… looked like?” 

“Not really, no. All I know is what my sister told me… she just went on and on about her.” I sighed, shaking my head. The reason it was so fresh in my mind was **because** I had just recently talked on the phone with my little sister to try and catch up. “Though, I don’t imagine she looks much like anything anymore… now that she’s dead.”

“N-now that she’s dead, Ma’am?”

“Last I heard she drove her own car off of a bridge… though if I had to bet, my sister probably ended up having her killed instead, which I’m glad about. I’m happy for her.” I hummed, slowly calming down as I turned back towards her, evidently having broken the poor girl even more. “Right… you weren’t… a fan, were you?”

“I… I… I… I… I kind of was… Ma’am…”

“Well don’t worry your little head off… Candace is a sweetheart, I swear.” 

“You… you… you aren’t going to kill me, are you?”

“Of course not, silly…” I leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on the poor girl’s forehead. “As long as you don’t cross me or my family, you’re always going to be safe here with us, I promise… you just gotta make me proud.” 

“I’ll make you proud, Master… I promise…” It took a lot of effort, but she smiled, leaning down and kissing the top of my foot to show respect. 

“Alright slave, let’s get back to it. Come on.” I stood up, gesturing for her to leave the cell. “Dinner’s ready, get going.” 

“Y-yes, Ma’am… I’ll see you there~” She gently placed the magazine onto the floor, quickly making her way out of the room, not looking back towards. 

_What a strange girl…_

I very briefly turned back to the magazine, still sitting there on the floor, considering having it shredded before deciding against it, scoffing at it and turning away for dinner. 

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“So how was dinner, mother?” 

“It’s nice just getting to have it with you again, dear…”

Dinner came and went, and so did the slaves, along with my wife and my daughter, but my mother and I were more than eager to sit together and chat at the dinner table. 

“I’m going to miss this…” I frowned, trying not to think about what was going to be coming in just a few months. “I’m going to miss you…”

“Oh don’t be a baby.” She chuckled, patting me on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind some dessert, you know~” 

“That’s because of how much you’ve been smoking.” I giggled, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. “I’ll send for Autumn to make you something.” 

“Thank you, sweetie…” She smiled, picking my cane up off of the floor and holding it out for me. “I’m going to miss this too, my dear… but I’m always going to be looking over you, I promise.” 

I snagged the cane from her, twirling it in my hand for a moment before pressing one of the buttons and holding the head to my mouth like a microphone. “Autumn, dear. Please get to work on some dessert, my mother is hungry~” 

I paused for a moment, listening for the sound of her robotic pitter patter as she entered the dining room, bowing for a moment before crossing the dining room and entering the kitchen. “Right away, Master.”

“Thank you slave.” I kept my eyes on her, smacking her on the ass as she walked by, heading back into the kitchen behind me. 

“You really have taken a liking to women, haven’t you?” My mother chuckled. “I knew you’d never leave Josie… but I never expected you to so thoroughly… embrace the lesbian lifestyle.” 

“Right…” I paused for a moment. “Can we… talk about that?”

“Of course we can, darling. What’s up?” 

“Do you remember that time you slapped me across the face for trying to say that I liked girls? Or that time you made me swallow one of your cigarettes for trying to say that I was never going to marry a boy? Or that time you-”

“Claudia-” 

“Or that time you spanked me for looking at a woman funny? Or when you soaped my mouth for telling my friends that I was a lesbian?” 

“Claudia…” 

“This isn’t **new** , mother.” I stood up from my seat, cane in hand. “I’ve always liked women… but you were the one who taught me that it was wrong. Not dad, you… so what changed?”

“What changed?”

“You supported Candace from the day you met her… so why not me? Why weren’t you there for me?” 

“I didn’t **really** meet Candace until after her mother died, and by then she had no one to support her.” 

“Okay, but what about me?” I kept going, not angry, but confused. “I didn’t have my mother there to support me at a young age either… how is that different?”

“Even though I may not have been as bad as your father, I know I wasn’t the best mother when you and Cyrus were growing up… but Alecia was always there to support you, wasn’t she?”

“I… I suppose so…” 

“After dessert… let’s go have that talk about Alecia, shall we?” 

“Sure…” I sat back down, smiling warmly at her. “Let’s enjoy dessert~”

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“My dad did what?” 

Dessert came and went, courtesy of my wife’s slave, Autumn. But once we were done, we sat down in my office and we had a talk. 

“Is that where I got the limp?”

I sat there for a good few minutes or so, just trying to process it all. I knew it happened, I just tried not to think about it. But now that it had come up, the images were flooding into my head like flashes from a bad dream. 

“This is a joke right?”

“No.” She sat across from me at my desk, her face stern and straight. “There wasn’t a word out of place.” 

I had walked funny all my life, and gotten bullied for it along the way. My mother had given me the cane, but my father was the one that gave me the limp. 

“Daddy raped me.” 

My father broke my hip when I was six years old, when he raped me. The broken bones might have been an accident, but the rape session most certainly wasn’t. I never forgot that he did that to me, but somehow I had forgotten that he was the one that gave me my limp. 

“Daddy raped me and you just… left us with him?”

“I left you with her.” 

“You left us with no one but the nanny to protect us?” I just stared at her in disbelief. “You left us with Alecia.” 

“And she did a damn good job of it, don’t you think?”

“She also did a damn good job of getting killed.” I scoffed, growling under my breath at her. “You don’t regret that?” “Not at all.” 

“You ended up getting Alecia **killed** , and you don’t regret that?”

“No. She was a slave, it was always going to be a risk. Besides… I wasn’t the one who had her killed. That was your father.”

“You… you hired Alecia as a nanny to take care of us… just because you weren’t brave enough to stand up to dad?”

“Claudia, listen… I had to make a choice.” 

“After Daddy **raped** me… You hired a nanny to take your place, and then you jumped ship?” I bit my lip, glaring at her, eyes full of anger. “Daddy raped your six year old girl and all you could think about was your own safety. That’s why you left?” 

“I had to get away from him, Claudia.”

“Well you could have taken us with you!!” I slammed my fist on the top of my desk, about ready to punch her straight in the face. “You could have left and taken us with you!!” 

“I could have, but I didn’t… and that was my decision.” She sighed, holding onto her cane as hard as she could. “Alecia was supposed to be your godmother… she was supposed to protect you.” 

“And look how good of a job she did.”

“You and your father were the ones who killed her, Claudia.” She frowned at me, not feeling very sorry for what I was feeling at all. “I may have put her in harm’s way, but you and your father were the ones who did her in.”

“Get out of my house, mom.” I sat back down at my desk and took a deep breath. “I love you, and I want you to be safe, but I need you to go home.”

“I’m sorry, Claudia…” 

“You’ll have your party, mom.” I groaned, pointing at the door with my cane. “But I need time to process this right now… especially the parts about… dad.” 

“Take your time, dear.” My mother slowly rose from her seat, deciding against a hug and kiss goodbye for the sake of not bothering me. “I love you, Claudia.”

“I love you too, mom.”

I wouldn’t put rape past me, I had raped plenty of women, I had raped a girl just today. I wasn’t even against doing things with my family… but I would never rape a child, especially not my own child. 

I was my mom and dad’s trial run, their prototype, I was their first mistake. I was the one that they learned from. I was the broken one, not my brother, not my sister, me. I was the reason my mother and father split, because apparently just looking at me made my mother fear for her life. 

No wonder my mother had always liked Cyrus better than me. I was always too much like my father. She didn’t just have to protect him from my father… she had to protect him from me. 

_Uh oh… now it’s hitting me…_

I whined loudly, leaning back into my chair, head pulsing with discomfort as I sat there. I kept a drawer full of edibles in a drawer at my desk for when I got stressed out doing work, but that conversation had been so stressful that I began popping them like pills. I may be a little bit null to the drugs at this point, but I could most certainly still get high. 

“So thaaaaaaat’s why she didn’t want me to date girls.” I growled under my breath, spinning my chair in place. “I guess I forgot about the fantasies…” 

Childhood trauma might have been clouding my thoughts for quite a while now, but I **definitely** remembered my mother making me swallow a cigarette for threatening to rape my middle school bully at age 14… the only reason I had gotten away with it at school had been because of my father and his controlling grasp over it. That had been a long time before the island had been converted into what it is now, though. 

And that middle school bully was still a part of my life, at least it was nice that twenty years later I was actually getting to make good on my promises to rape her.

I grasped at thin air for my apparently absent cane for a couple of moments before groaning and standing up without it, stumbling towards the cupboard. I swung around to the other side of the desk, making sure to grab my bag. 

“Fuck…” There was no way in hell I was making it to the door without falling over, the terrible limp made all that more painful by the fact that it had been my father who had given it to me.

My father who I still loved quite a lot. 

**_Thump._ **That wasn’t the sound of my cane being tapped on the floor, that was the sound of me. collapsing next to the cupboard, followed by the sound of me shouting for my slave to come help. 

“Zenna MacNair!!!!” 

My slave was not one to disappoint me, quickly finding her way inside just moments after I first heard her footsteps hurrying down the stairs. 

“Mommy!!” 

I looked up, trying to find Lilian’s voice, there in Zenna’s arms as the two of them arrived in my office to check up on me, both with worried looks on their faces. 

“Are you okay, Ma’am?” Zenna quickly set my daughter down, letting her rush to my side on her own, following quickly behind Lilian. Even in a moment like this she wasn’t able to lead. 

I sat up, letting my five year old daughter leap into my arms for a hug, which I gave to her, holding her close and not letting go of her for a little bit.

“I’m alright. I promise.” I sighed, gently rubbing Lilian’s back to calm her down. “Thanks for coming in to check on me.” 

“I’m your slave, Master. I’m always going to come when you call my name.” 

“Thank you, Zenna… I don’t deserve your loyalty.”

“Nonsense, Ma’am. I belong to you, you’re always going to get the best from me, I swear.”

There she was, the very same middle school bully that I threatened to rape back when I was fourteen. Zenna used to make fun of and pick on me for having a limp, and she was at one point a police officer, preventing crime and potentially saving lives, but now she spent her days bending over and letting herself get hurt and raped to make her master happy. She lived to make me happy, even and especially if it meant allowing herself to be a victim. 

“Twenty years later and you’re still standing over me when I fall down, huh?” 

“Always and forever. But this time I’m here to put myself under you and help you back up, rather than keeping you down, Ma’am.” 

“Grab my cane for me, slave.” 

“Yes, Master.” 

“Mommy…” Lilian pouted in my arms, trying to get my attention. 

It didn’t really occur to me just how little I was when my father hurt me. I had been Lilian’s age when I lost virginity. Raped at the age of six. I loved my father, I did, but I sure would have liked to have been spared the cruel realities of the world until I was at least a little bit older. I wasn’t my father, Lilian would have to wait until she’s an adult for any of that. 

“Why isn’t Lilian asleep?” I held her close, watching Zenna quickly round the corner around my desk, trying to find my cane. 

“I tried playing and doing tricks for her, but she didn’t want to sleep, Ma’am. It’s my fault, I’m sorry.” She grabbed my cane and returned to my side, holding the implement out to me. “I’ll graciously accept a caning if that’s what you wish to give me, Master.” 

I put my hand out to her, holding one finger up to tell her to hold on while I dealt with my daughter, not about to punish the slave for Lilian being stubborn. “Lilian, why aren’t you in bed?”

I held her at arm’s length away from me, looking into her eyes as she fussed. “I wanna play with the slave before bed, mommy.”

“You already played with Zenna, Lilian. It’s time for bed.”

“Nooooo, not nanny!!” She pouted, stomping her little foot. “I wanna play with the new slave!!” 

“Oh, is that so?” I sighed, shaking my head at her and giggling. “Normally I’d say no, but Mommy kind of wants to play with the new slave too~”

“Shall I retrieve Chloe for you, Ma’am?” Zenna smiled, presenting my cane to me. 

“No, actually. I need a word with you by myself.” I turned back to Lilian, looking her in the eyes as I gave her simple instructions. “Do you think you can go find Chloe and take her upstairs, sweetie?”

“Yuh huh!! Yuh huh!!” She instantly broke free from my grasp, giggling and bouncing her way out of the room to go find Chloe, and before I had the chance to say anything else, she was gone. “Chloooeeeeee!!!!”

Zenna presented the cane to her master, helping me up to my feet before settling down onto the ground in front of me. “My apologies, Mistress Claudia.” 

“Your apologies for what, be specific?” 

“For failing to get Lilian to sleep.” Zenna sighed, lowering her gaze to my feet. “But mostly for being a bully… I regret ever being the one to push you to the ground.”

“I regret a lot of things in life, but I don’t necessarily deserve to be forgiven just because I regret something. I’m not going to forgive you just because you regret something that you did to me.” I picked up my cane, watching Zenna cower in fear of it but not so much as flinch away as she helplessly awaited being smacked across the head. But instead, I just tapped her on the shoulder with it, trying to comfort her. “That’s why I hope it means something to you to know that yes, I do forgive you for that, really. I honestly kind of deserved it in quite a few ways.” 

Zenna started to protest, but decided against it, smiling up at her owner and nodding her head. “Thank you, Ma’am… I’m just glad we’ve put our past behind us.” 

“As am I.” I smiled, shaking my head at her and motioning for her to stand back up. “I love you, slave.”

“And I love you, Master.” 

_Putting the past behind us…_

I turned back to my desk, staring intently at the strangely imposing stack of magazines on top of it, gazing at the pictures of my sister printed onto the page. 

I had put my past behind me and forgiven Zenna, as well as my father, but some people in my life hadn’t been so lucky. Some people in my life, especially former slaves, died at my hands before ever being the chance to be forgiven. 

And I didn’t want my little sister to be one of those people, not like her mother had been. 

Alecia **had** been there for me, she had been supportive of me all along, but as a child I was too jealous of the fact that she supported her own daughter in ways that my mother never supported me to realize that she had kind of been the mother that my own mother hadn’t been as a kid. But now she was dead, and it was too late to make up with her.

Candace’s mother had died before I had ever had the chance to forgive her, and I didn’t want the same to happen with her. 

“Get to bed, Zenna.” I tapped my cane on the ground, watching her jump to attention. “I need to make sure Lilian doesn’t break my new slave.” 

Zenna bowed, smiling and skipping out of the room, doing exactly as she was told without having to say another word. I loved Zenna a lot, and I honestly couldn’t imagine a world without her, I would be devastated if I ever had to put her down. 

_I wonder…_

Grinning, I spun on my heel, turning back to the stack of magazines on my desk, staring at my sister on the page. 

_That lady friend of yours was that Sophia girl, wasn’t she?_

I sighed, shaking my head as I closed the magazines, readying myself to head back upstairs for the night. If I could forgive my bully, then clearly Candace could forgive hers… and we could forgive each other. 

_You’ll have to tell me what really happened to her sometime~_

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“I- I don’t know what you want… I’m sorry-”

“I wanna play! I wanna play!”

“I think I’d rather wait for your mom to get back first, okay?”

“But I wanna play nooooow!!!”

Chloe was in Lilian’s room trying to get her to settle down by the time I got up there to play with them. Lilian wouldn’t want to admit it, but she was tired, yet somehow she wasn’t about to lay down and sleep without getting to play with Chloe before bed- and honestly, I wasn’t either. 

“Down, puppy.” I grinned, tapping my cane on the ground before pointing it at her. “On all fours~” 

Chloe heard the thump of my cane against the floor and turned to me, staring fearfully into my eyes for a few moments before obeying, slowly lowering herself onto her hands and knees in front of Lilian. 

“Here with me you’re a toy, and that means my daughter is going to want to play with you from time to time as well.” I slowly stepped up to her, lifting my foot up between her legs and pressing my shoe into her exposed cunt. “Head down, ass up.” 

I could hear her scoff under her breath, briefly turning back to look at me before doing just that, putting her head to the floor, her cunt still at my foot. 

I smiled, tapping Chloe’s back with my cane. “Go ahead, Lilian. Climb on.” 

The innocent little five year old eagerly jumped on top of her, mounting Chloe like she was a horse. Lilian was too young to even realize this was weird, and I intended to keep her in the dark on that for now. 

“Up.” I kicked the new slave in the cunt with my foot, commanding her to get back up onto all fours now that Lilian was on top of her, which she did. “Chin up.” 

Again, Chloe did as she was told, tilting her head backwards so that I could put her back on my leash, her favorite place to be. 

“Forward.” I whipped the chain connected to the head of her collar like it was a reign, commanding her to crawl forward out into the hallway outside. “We’re going on a walk.” 

Chloe and I had done this once before where she followed me on a leash, walking in a square around the second floor balcony that overlooked the ballroom below. But this time she had significantly more trouble keeping up with me, because unlike last time, she was on all fours with a child on her back. 

I couldn’t stand it, she was so pretty, I wanted to take her right here and now. But now was not the time, tonight was not the night, I had until the end of the world to make her mine, and I was going to do it slowly and methodically. 

The hours had ticked away for today, right now was about taking the two of them around and around and around in circles until they both passed out, I had the patience for that. 

The lithe little beauty was going to live under my foot for the rest of her days, she was just going to have to get used to it. 

Ten, twenty, twenty-five laps later and Lilian was asleep on Chloe’s back, having worn herself out kicking the girl’s skin and pulling on her hair. I could have taken her back to her bed at this point, but keeping her there was going to wear the slave out quicker than taking her off. 

“Now comes the fun part.” I hummed to her, trying to get her skin to crawl. “Torturing you until you collapse.” 

Chloe kept her eyes closed, having memorized exactly how many steps she needed to hear me take before turning the corner. “Yes, Master.” 

“You think you wanna tap out soon?”

“No.” Chloe shook her head, trying not to knock her pint sized rider off of her back as she did so. “I stop when you tell me to stop.” 

“You’ll fall unconscious before you’ve earned the right to stop.” 

“I’m supposed to agree with you, but I don’t.” 

“You don’t what, slave?” I yanked on the chain, forcing her forward to break up her rhythm.

But magically, Chloe sensed it coming, even with her eyes closed. She jumped forward, refusing to get knocked over. “I won’t collapse, Ma’am. I won’t let you make me.” 

“And what makes you think that, slave?”

“Because I don’t deserve to just fall over and stop, Ma’am.” She took a deep breath, her hands and knees scraping against the hard tile floor beneath her. “I stop when you decide that I stop.”

“And where did you learn this level of perseverance, exactly?”

“From my first master.” She remained unphased, perfectly balanced, conserving her own energy like she was in some sort of battery saver mode. “She taught me everything I know.” 

I grinned, more than a little annoyed at her attitude towards me. 

“I really ought to meet her then, just to say thank you~” 

“If that’s what you wish, I won’t be able to stop you.” 

“Who was she, Chloe?” I stopped, and Chloe stopped with me, finding her way to my feet and kneeling. 

“A nobody. Just like me.” She sat there, opening her eyes and looking up at me. “Are we stopping, Ma’am?” 

“For the night, yes.” I sighed, grinding my teeth at her. “Take Lilian to bed and then go back to your room.”

“Anything else you need from me tonight, Miss?”

“No.” I pressed a button, retracting the chain that connected to her leash. “Get out of my sight~” 

“Yes, Master. I hope you sleep well.” 

“Thank you slave, goodnight.” 

“Goodnight, Master.” 


	27. Maid of Honor

“Well hey there, little mouse.” 

I stepped back into the comfort of my own home, finally free from a weekend with Tallulah. It was kind of nice to just step inside through the parlor door without having to worry about a slave running out of the house, but I did wish that Tallie would have had the helicopter land anywhere except for my front lawn, but it was whatever.

It had been a long weekend, and it was already late into Monday evening, after having been kept late by my manager. 

“Did you get your house call while I was gone?”

“From Rebecca and her psychopath assistant, you mean?” Aria scoffed. “Yeah, I have an IUD now.”

“Oh come on, Anthony’s not that bad.”

“She didn’t bring Anthony… she brought crazy Jane with her.”

“She brought Jane Colton into my house?” I snarled, glaring down at Aria in disapproval. “And you just let her?”

“How in the world was I supposed to stop her?” 

Oh Aria, always running that stupid little mouth of hers. That wasn’t going to slide, not here. As soon as she was on her feet to protest, she was met with a backhand to the face. “No arguing… not with me.”

“Yes, Ma’am… I’m sorry.” Aria had learned just a little bit about what I liked, and I still couldn’t be sure that she wanted to give it to me. But I also couldn’t be sure that I even wanted it from her. 

“What’s on your mind, hon?”

She rubbed her cheek, slightly sore from being slapped in the face. "Well, I couldn't stop the doctors and the nurse from coming in, but I hope you don't mind that I did invite some friends over?"

"You invited your friends over to my house while I was gone?" I sighed, not a fan of unexpected guests in most capacities. "Who were they?"

"Our friends, Candace. They're our friends, not just mine. I didn't know you were going to be late, I thought you'd be here by now." 

"So you got bored and invited people to hang out with? Who did you invite, Leah?"

"Leah's waiting in the car for us, I think. But also…" She smirked, trying to keep a straight face as she taunted me. "Well, I just figured you missed him." 

"I missed who?" I almost tilted my head with confusion, studying her face to see where her eyes were looking and following her gaze towards the hallway behind me. 

"You missed me, right? I'm not just gone forever, am I?" He smiled at me, his stupid grey eyes winking in my direction. "I'm still a cast member, aren't I?"

"Malcolm." As soon as I spotted him, I pounced, just about tackling him to the ground. "What are you doing here???"

"Surprising you with dinner, right? Isn't that the plan?" He smirked, nudging me off of him. "You've been in a depressive rut, I've been there."

"Dinner? What, like a double date?" 

"It'd be a triple date if Leah had brought her new boyfriend."

"Her new boyfriend?"

"What, am I not allowed to date anymore?" Leah was prompt as always, rustling a ring of keys in her hand. "It's getting late, are we leaving or not?" 

I rolled my eyes. "Depends, are we picking up that new boyfriend of yours?"

"He's busy with important work." She shook her head, puffing up just one cheek of hers as she pouted. "And he's not my boyfriend yet."

"Ooh, important work. Is he somebody important?" I snarked back sarcastically. 

"Something like that, depends who you ask- are we leaving or not?" She scoffed, quickly trying to skip over the conversation. "I've got a reservation at the bar for five, not six."

"And you're not just here to spy on me for my father?" 

"Pfft, you have no idea how much I've been aching to get away from him, working for your father is horrible and exhausting." 

"You know you're always welcome to work for me instead~"

"I may just have to, working for Cardinal is a nightmare."

Cardinal Russo, my father, was neither a wholesome employer or a pleasant person to be around. 

_My father…_

I had a lot of pleasant memories with my father, not as pleasant as my memories of my mother, but I did love him a lot. I had just as many unpleasant memories of him, if not more, however. 

"I- I need a second before we go…"

I pinched my eyes shut and pushed pat Malcolm, heading towards the lounge, the awful memories suddenly flooding back into my brain. 

There was only one person who could help me when it came to my father, there was only one person who ever made it her mission to protect me from him. 

My mother. 

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I pounded on the door, tears still fresh in my eyes as I struggled to keep my shirt on, the vast majority of the buttons having been broken off after being torn open. 

“Mom?” I stood outside of the door, waiting for a few moments in the silence for an answer before pounding on the door again. “Mom????” 

“Just a minute, honey. I’m coming~!!” I finally got a response from the other side, but by that time I didn’t have the patience to wait any longer, turning the knob and slamming the door open myself so that I could get inside. 

I just as forcefully slammed the door shut as I opened her, turning the locks that were supposed to remain unused at all times so that I could lock myself inside, where he couldn’t get to me. 

“Sweetie, I told you to wait a second so that-” She started, her ruby red eyes going wide with shock as she looked at me. “Candace honey, what happened to you?” 

Finally, someone that cared about me. “M-mom…” I stuttered for a moment, before rushing to her side, climbing in next to her on the bed for protection. 

“You’re safe and sound with me honey, deep breaths.” She quickly wrapped a blanket around my half naked body, more concerned with making sure I was safe in the moment than getting to the bottom of what happened. “I’ve got you.” 

I can hardly remember how old I was at the time, but I couldn’t have been any younger than ten, or any older than fourteen. I had been fourteen when my mother died, and she was most certainly there that day, or else I might not have survived it. My father wouldn’t have killed me, but if I didn’t have her there with me, I might not have survived myself. 

“Mommy…” Deep breaths, I took deep breaths to try and calm myself down, in and out. “It hurts…” 

“Where does it hurt, honey?” She gently moved away from me, letting me know that she was still there, but not wanting to touch me anywhere that might injure me more. “What happened?” 

She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, making sure I could feel her there with me, watching over me. 

“It’s my… it’s my…” I didn’t want to say it, I couldn’t say it, I didn’t want to accept that it was real. “It’s my… I don’t want to look at it anymore.” 

“No.” She scoffed angrily, wrapping her arms around me to hold me close. “He didn’t. Tell me he didn’t…”

“He didn’t.” I looked up at her, holding the blanket tight and frowning, lying straight to her face. I didn’t want to upset her, even if he really did do what she hoped he wouldn’t do. “I- I’m fine… he didn’t.” 

“That son of a bitch!!” She didn’t believe it for one second, and why should she, she knew exactly what had happened. She shouted, not at me, but into the air around her. “That goddamn son of a bitch!!”

“Mom, I-”

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to fucking kill him.”

“Mom, no!!” I bit my lip, tears falling from my eyes as I shook my head. “Please…” 

“He’s not supposed to do that…” She had tears in her eyes too, not quite as distraught as I was, but still quite distraught. I could tell that she wanted to hurt him, she did, but couldn’t. “Your father’s not supposed to touch you like that… that’s not right.” 

“Mom, I… I don’t know what to do…” 

“Why don’t you go put on one of Mommy’s gowns, Candy?” She carefully peeled the blankets from my nervously shaking body. “We’re gonna get rid of these clothes.”

“But Daddy bought them for me…” Defensively, I grasped at my button up shirt, which had been forcefully torn open by my father, the only thing I was wearing aside from my underwear. “He said they were expensive-”

“Money is nothing, princess.” She gently nudged me, pointing towards the closet. “You’ll feel better in a nice dress, I promise.”

I smiled, nodding as I slowly got up and headed for the closet to pick out a nice gown to put on, blue and frilly, only a little bit too big for me at that age. “Th-thanks, Mom…”

“I love you, Candace…” She sat there on the bed, surrounded by plush blankets, unable to get up and do anything. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

Heavy metal chains hung from the bands clasped around her wrists, black iron bondage keeping her trapped in bed while her husband, my father, was away. She pulled on them, desperately hoping and wishing that she could break free of them, but she couldn’t. The slowly blinking red light on her black collar glowed as brightly and as fiercely as her two red eyes, her glowing skin somehow more radiant than the diamonds embedded into the steel shackle wrapped around her throat. 

“Mom?” I stepped back towards her, worried that I had done something to upset her. “Are you okay…” 

“This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, sweetie… I’m sorry.” She was crying, failing to wipe away her tears before I could see them. “I’ve failed you… I… I’m sorry…” 

“Failed?” I frowned, looking down nervously. I couldn’t be sure that she even wanted to look at me anymore. “Failed at what?”

“I’m supposed to protect you… that’s why I’m here. I’m supposed to protect you, and your brother, and your sister, but-” She growled angrily at herself, bashing herself in the head with her fist, nothing else within reach to take her anger out on, unlike my father, she wasn’t willing to hurt something she loved. “But I’m just useless.” 

She pulled on her chains as hard as she could, just about ready to tear both of her own arms off to get to him. “First I couldn’t protect your brother, and now… all three of you, he’s taken it from **all three of you**.” 

“He… he’s taken what, mom?”

“Your virginity, Candace. Your father has taken your virginity just like he did to them. First I couldn’t protect Cyrus… and now-” She sobbed, her hands curled up into helpless fists in the sheets on her lap. “And now you… I couldn’t protect any of you…” 

“Mom, I… I’m sorry.”

“Promise me you’ll never turn into your father, Candace.” She turned to me, her eyes still wet with tears. “Please promise that you’ll never be like him.” 

“I…” I stared at her, feeling the tears well up in my eyes as I saw the pain she was in. “I’m sorry…” 

I hated seeing my mother cry, she carried such a heavy burden on her shoulder that it hurt to see her break down like she so often did. She wouldn’t be in such pain if it wasn’t for me. She wouldn’t be crying if it wasn’t for me. 

“Candace, wait-” I turned and ran, my mother tried to stop me, calling out for me from in bed, but she couldn’t follow me. I didn’t want her to follow me, I didn’t want her to be in any more pain because of me. She always tried to protect me, but I didn’t want her to get hurt anymore. I didn’t want my father to lay a finger on her again. I didn’t want my father to lay a finger on **me** again.

I slammed the door shut and I ran out into the hallway, trying to get as far away from her as I could, trying to get as far away from my family as possible. 

I didn’t want to see my father, or my brother, or my sister ever again. I didn’t want to see any at all ever again. But my adolescent brain wasn’t smart enough to realize that that had been a doomed endeavor from the start. 

“Watch it, Cardinal!!!” Who else could still be yelling at me like that but her, she was the only person at home who still referred to me by my old name without fail, and I slammed right into her, my teary eyes not looking where I was going as I rounded the corner. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” 

“I- I- I’m sorry!!!” I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up at her, still on the floor. 

“You almost knocked me over!!!” My big sister, Claudia, was not very happy to see me like this. 

“I… I’m sorry…” I swallowed nervously, not wanting to talk to her anymore. “I need to go…”

“And what is this?” She scoffed, stepping on the skirt of my dress before I could stand up, her foot now on top of my mother’s blue dress, standing on it between my legs. “What the fuck are you wearing?”

“It’s my mom’s!!” I whined, wishing she would stop so that I could stand up and run away without tearing the dress off in the process, having had enough running around naked for the day. “Get your foot off of it!!” 

“If it’s your mom’s, why are you wearing it??” She shouted, snarling at me. “You look stupid, take it off.” 

“I don’t want to-”

“Take it off, Cardinal!!” 

“Okay, fine!!!” I gave up, whimpering desperately as I started stripping the dress off of me, just wanting to get away. “Please… leave me alone…” 

“I can’t believe your mom lets you get away with this, you’re such a fag.” As soon as the dress was off of me, she leaned down and grabbed it off of the floor. “Fucking twink…” 

“Daddy says he’s fine with it too, Claudia!!” 

“What, with his son being a queer?!” She scoffed angrily at me. “Since fucking when?!” 

“Since **today** , Claudia!!” I hated her so much. I couldn’t believe she would still treat me like shit so long after I had come out as a girl. “Daddy said he’d love me just the same, we told me that earlier!!” 

“No he fucking didn’t…” She seemed almost offended at the idea, staring at the dress in her hands in disgust, a furious blush on her face. “He would never accept a gay son just like he would never accept a gay daughter… he just wouldn’t.” 

“Yes, he did, Claudia…” I choked on my sobs, tears in my eyes as my sister tried to undermine the one good thing my father did for me today. “He said as long as I acted like a girl he was going to treat me like one…” 

“Oh yeah?” She let out just a single chuck, smirking only slightly. “And then what happened?”

“I… I promised him I would…” I backed up, the painted nails shining in the light as my fingers found their way to my sore lips, still needing a touch up after some of my lip gloss rubbed off. “I…” 

“You sucked Daddy’s cock.” She giggled, taunting me. “What, did you nibble on it too, pillow biter?”

“Shut up, Claudia…” I whimpered, backing away from her just slightly. “I didn’t have a choice…” 

She stood there, looking me up and down. Claudia had always been kind of a weirdo, especially when it came to me, but this was as weird as she had ever been. 

I was just standing there in my underwear, a pair of bra and panties, lingerie that my father had bought me, while my sister ogled me. She didn’t say anything, she just stared at me, her cheeks blushing harder the longer she looked, fixating on the extremely small pair of breasts that I had developed thanks to my hormone treatment. 

“Whatever, Daddy raped you… so what?”

“Claudia-”

“I’m gonna rape you if you’re not careful, suck it up.” 

“Claudia…” 

I was frozen in place as she stepped towards me, slamming the dress into my chest and giving it back to me. “You know I’d love you a lot more if you acted like my little brother, like you’re supposed to… even Cyrus didn’t fuck that up.”

“Whatever, be a girl if you want, Cardinal. I don’t care.” She shook her head and started walking away, her cheeks still bright red. “Just don’t come crying to me if mean gay boys want to rape you, I’m not your mom.” 

“You’re not my mom, and you’re not my sister…”

“Good, cuz you’re not my sister either. Now run off to father’s side and go back to being Daddy’s girl, you’ve always been his favorite.” 

“That’s not my fault…”

“No it’s not. It’s Alecia’s fault.” She rounded the corner away from me, and then she was gone, just as quick as she had shown up. 

I knew she couldn’t hear me anymore, but I couldn’t just let her say something like that. “Don’t talk about my mom like that…” 

I moped back down the hall, wanting nothing more than to be with my mom again. I couldn’t do this on my own, I couldn’t do this without her. I couldn’t fathom why she hated my mom so much, but I loved my mother and she loved me, and sometimes it felt like she was the only person in the world who loved me. 

“Princess…” Those words would have felt good from anyone else in the world, except for him. I wouldn’t even mind hearing Claudia call me that, but instead it had to be my father. “Don’t scare your mother like that.” 

“Yes, Daddy… I’m sorry.” I nervously looked up, torn on the image that I was seeing in front of me. “It won’t happen again.” 

“Don’t make me put you on a leash like I keep Mommy on.” He somehow had the nerve to smile at me. He just sat there, the chain to my mother’s collar in his hand. He kept my mother on a leash, his leash. 

“Candace, princess…” From my mother, it sounded a lot sweeter. She beckoned for me, patting the bed next to her. “Your father and I had a talk, it’s okay now…” 

“And what did you guys talk about…” 

“It’s alright now, you’re safe…” She nervously glanced over at him, her master, smiling desperately for him. “Daddy’s not going to touch you like that again, are you, my lord?” 

“No. Not again…” He smirked, his hand firmly grasping the back of his wife’s neck as he held her there. “Not as long as your mother behaves herself.”

My lord… that was new for them, and I had heard her call him a lot of things. Honey, Darling, Sweetie, Husband, My love, Sir, Master, I had even heard **her** call him Daddy just like I did… but _My lord_ was most certainly knew. 

“It’s Mommy’s fault that your father hurt you like that, sweetie… not yours.” She was trying so hard, I could see it, she was trying so hard to keep a smile on her face, just for me. “Your mom misbehaved and got in trouble, so he hurt you as punishment… but-” 

She just wanted to protect me, that’s all she wanted, to protect me. But it wasn’t working, she was crying, she was crying every kind of tear that you could possibly cry all while desperately submitting to her husband with her words, bending to his will, sacrificing herself just to keep me safe. 

“But Mommy is going to behave now…” She swallowed nervously, her voice cracking as she complied with his demands. “Mommy is going to… Mommy is going to behave for her master now, so nothing bad is going to happen to you again, Mommy promises… Daddy’s not going to hurt you, because Mommy’s not going to get into any more trouble…” 

I bit my lip, scowling angrily, but saying nothing that I wanted to say, saying nothing that my father wouldn’t want to hear. “Thank you mom… I love you…”

“I love you too, Candace…” She smiled, but she kept her eyes on my father, not allowed to look away from him. “And I love your father…”

“And I love you too, Alecia…” He smirked, pulling her lips to his for a kiss, and I could see the desperate tears roll down her cheeks as she kissed him. 

I turned around and left, leaving my mother and father alone. That’s not a place I was needed, and I didn’t want to watch anymore. I couldn’t look at either of them for another second without getting sick to my stomach. Watching how slaves were treated made me sick, the idea of **being** one like my mother made me want to puke. 

“Hey.” I wandered back to the entertainment room, trying to entertain myself with television for a little bit as I blocked out the sounds of my father raping my mother in the other room. Until suddenly, finally, the only other person I felt safe around came to check up on me. I heard his voice, the only male voice I felt comfortable with hearing, even and especially including my own. “Do you want to go get ice cream with me?” 

“Yes please…” I quickly switched the TV off, turning around to face my brother, Cyrus, standing over me. 

“Just a few more years and you’re gonna be a grown up, kiddo.” He smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder to help comfort me. “It gets better after that, I promise~” 

“I hope so…” I shrugged him off, jumping up off of the couch and shaking my head. “Can I have shotgun?” 

He chuckled. “You can drive if you want~”

I giggled back at him, quickly following him out towards the car. “Hell yeah.” 

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I sighed, being snapped out of blankly staring at the portrait in the lounge by a gentle hand placing itself on my shoulder, a lot like my mom used to do, just trying to make sure I could feel them there, watching over me. 

“I’m sorry for bringing you father up.” Leah stood directly behind me, placing her other hand on the opposite shoulder. “I should have thought that maybe mentioning him in the same context as nightmares would stir up something bad… I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine, I’ve come to terms with it… sometimes you need to remember the bad things.” I sighed, placing one of my hands over Leah’s, grabbing onto it for support. “I think you’re making a mistake with him… you shouldn’t get so close.”

“Working as his assistant, you mean?” She rolled her eyes, chuckling under her breath. “I’ll be fine.”

“Why would you agree to be his right hand… do you know how dangerous it is to be that close to him?”

“I’m never going to get away while my father’s debt hangs over me, Candace.” She tightened her grip on my shoulders, grabbing onto **me** for support. “The closer I get to him, the quicker I can pay off my debt, and the quicker I can leave…” 

“You’ll never be able to leave, Leah… you can never escape his grasp, not when you’re that close to him.” I bit my lip, gazing up at my mother’s image on the wall across from. “Take it from me, I would know… and so would she.” 

She giggled, rubbing my shoulders. “I’m not your mother, isn’t that what you said?”

“Maybe not, but you might as well be.” I shook my head and smiled. “That’s what **you** said.” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She sighed, finally taking her hands off of me. “I just care about keeping you safe.”

“Yeah… just like my mom did.” I sighed, brushing my shoulders off. “Just don’t die like she did…”

“I promise I won’t die on you kid.”

“You had better not.” 

“Are we going out for dinner or not?”

“Yes yes alright fine, I’m coming.” 

“Good, cuz everyone else is waiting in the car and you’re gonna make us late~”

I followed her out to the garage and climbed into the passenger’s seat. Like always, Leah drove, and she drove to a place she was all too familiar with, a bar. 

We all slowly made our way out of the car and piled up at a booth inside that had been reserved for us. My bodyguard had made the reservation for Ms. Watts, party of five, but the booth could fit six. 

Aria and I got one whole side to ourselves, she slid in first closest to the wall but not too close, and I sat in the middle of the booth, across from Malcolm’s boyfriend, Anthony. 

“Sit in my lap until the food arrives.” The two of them were adorable. I would honestly expect that to be something that came out of my own mouth, not Anthony’s, but it was something I would only say to a slave, not to an actual person.

But to my own amazement, Malcolm actually fucking did it, he climbed into his boyfriend’s lap and sat there, even offering him a title to show his respect. “Yes, Sir.” 

I just stared at them, chuckling under my breath as Malcolm sat in Anthony’s lap, straight across from me. “And I thought my slave had been addicted to riding their master’s cock.” 

“Shut up, Candace!!” Malcolm pouted at me, growling under his breath. “You know I’m not a slave.” 

“Well you sure act like one sometimes.”

“I do not-”

“Malcolm.” Anthony quickly interrupted him, seemingly scolding him for getting just a little bit out of line. “Be nice, don’t disrespect your boss.” 

“She’s not my boss!!!!” Malcolm threw his hands up in protest. “She’s not my boss anymore, Sir… you know that…” 

“Yeah well she used to be your boss, so it still counts, be good.” 

“I… eugh… yes, honey…” 

“You two are so cute.” I smiled at them, a faint blush on my cheeks as I shook my head. “I see now why you work at the facility, Anthony.” 

“What, you think I’m soft?” He chuckled, squeezing his fiance’s waist and watching Malcolm squirm. “Because I’m not~”

“You’re not, you’re not, you’re not, please let go!!” Malcolm squeaked, letting out a sigh of relief as soon as his future husband let go, allowing him to scoot into the seat of the booth next to him, across from Aria. “Owie.” 

“You let **this guy** monitor the security cameras at your house.” Leah chuckled, pointing over Anthony and to Malcolm. “And you had me be your chauffeur?”

I giggled at that. “Maybe that wasn’t my best decision.”

“Hey!!!!” Malcolm pouted, scoffing. “I resent that.” 

“Sure you do.” Anthony nudged him. “Tell them the news.” 

“The news?” Malcolm seemed puzzled for a moment before gasping excitedly. “We have a date!!” 

“What, for the wedding?” Aria finally piped in, snarky as usual. 

“What else would it be for???” Malcolm whined, bouncing excitedly in his seat. 

“I could think of one other potential thing, you know.” Aria smirked, taunting him with her eyebrows. 

“I’m not pregnant, Aria!!!!” Malcolm growled angrily, causing the little mouse to retreat back into her seat. “Why would you even assume that?”

“That’s not what I meant, but okay.” She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “I was talking about the surgery.”

“Oh… sorry.” Malcolm grinned, nervously eyeing his boyfriend beside him. “I mean I had my mastectomy already, but… should I tell them?”

Anthony shrugged. “If you want~”

Malcolm nodded, smiling warmly. “I’m staying non-op.” 

“Whoa, really?” Aria was almost surprised to hear that. “I thought Rebecca was gonna do the operation for you?” 

“I know I talked about it a lot, but…” Malcolm’s face was beginning to turn red. “Well, **we** started to talk about it, and… we decided to eventually have Rebecca undo the IUD.” 

“Wait…” I smiled, tilting my head towards Malcolm in disbelief. “So you **are** going to have kids?”

“No, eww. I’m just going to get a ligation and deal with it, like Chloe did. If I got pregnant, I’d probably kill my-”

“Honey, shush.” Malcolm’s boyfriend had to quiet him down as soon as the food got here, watching the waitress set the platters down in front of us. 

It was nice just getting to sit down and have a normal conversation with my friends for once, it helped make me feel more like a real person for once in my life. 

“So, Anthony…” I slowly began to pick at my food, looking across the table at him. “Are tubal ligations reversible?” 

He chuckled. “I’m not going to answer that.”

“And why not?” 

“Because you don’t have any need for a tubal ligation reversal.”

“I was just wondering if-”

“I can see what you’re doing, Candace.” He frowned, shaking his head at me. “Even if we could reverse her spay… she’s not here anymore.” 

“I wasn’t talking about her, Anthony. I was talking about-”

“Candace… I know you miss her, but… even **I** don’t know who she belongs to now.” He sighed in disappointment, beginning to get at his food again. “The only people who know the name and identity of the person who purchased her are Rachel, the person who sold her, and your brother… maybe the people who handed her off, but even that’s iffy, Liz doesn’t even get to know, and neither do Rebecca or I…”

Anthony turned to Malcolm, very briefly getting side tracked with details about their wedding. “Speaking of, I was considering maybe either asking Rachel or Grey if they wanted to be best lady or best man?” 

“I don’t think Rebecca would let her slave be a part of the wedding, babe. But if you want to ask Rachel or Liz, I’d be okay with that…” Malcolm shook his head. “Speaking of best lady…” 

I remained side tracked for a few moments trying to let them talk, before Malcolm coughed, breaking the awkward silence that had been caused while he waited for me to look over at him. 

“Hmm?” Confused, I finally looked over at him, staring straight at his dumb face as he pleaded at me. “Speaking of what?” 

“Best lady!!” Malcolm giggled, pointing straight at me with a celery stick in his hand. “You.”

“Me?” I blushed ever so slightly. “What about me?”

“I want you to be my best lady.” He snapped off part of the celery stick in his mouth, chewing and swallowing it. “Will you be my maid of honor?” 

“ **Me** ?” I blushed, grinning like a stupid loser. “You want **me** to be your maid of honor?” 

“Please?” He frowned, continuing to plead at me. “Pretty please?”

“Of course I will, stupid.” I scoffed, my face bright pink as I rolled my eyes at him. “If you want me to be maid of honor, then sure.” 

“Fuck yes.” He nudged his fiance excitedly. “You’re going to have to go suit shopping with me, no take backs.” 

“Alright alright fine, we can go suit shopping together, loser.” 

I smiled, eagerly letting the evening take me away as we continued to chat over dinner, considering dessert for myself but deciding against it. 

“I think I’m gonna go grab some drinks, okay?” I stood up from the booth, needing to get away for just a moment, even if that meant purchasing drinks for everyone at the table, excluding Leah of course. Leah didn’t like to drink anymore, not since her drunken fall out with her now dead ex-husband. 

“Five please?” I smiled at the bartender, ordering two drinks for myself, knowing that I was going to need it. “It’s for the booth back there~” 

The bartender woman eyed the group suspiciously, before shrugging and sighing, getting the drinks and setting them down on the bartop in front of me before moving onto the next customer, some scrappy looking bushy-tailed woman off to my left. 

I knew what it looked like, with me just sitting there with five drinks in front of me, getting to work on the first one, but carrying four drinks back to the table with me was more manageable than five. 

“A round for the group back in the corner, Miss?” The woman off to my left was doing the same thing as I was, ordering a whole host of drinks for the group she had come with. “And can you have someone carry em for me… I can’t really carry all of those.”

I turned to my left, looking her up and down. The girl seemed downright miserable having to order drinks, it was kind of off putting. 

The poor thing really did look like a squirrel, with her long frizzy mess of a ponytail and her pear shaped body, concealed behind her purple hoodie, her hands both moving about in her jacket pocket. She hid her mouth behind a weirdly turtleneck like shirt collar that barely poked out from under the jacket, concealing her neck and her chin. 

Something was off about this girl. 

She turned around, beginning to head away from the bar without lifting a finger. She was fiddling with something in her jacket pocket, or at least it looked like it from the outside, but if you didn’t know better you might think that her wrists were just stuck in there. She didn’t make eye contact with me either, even when she was basically staring straight at me. 

“Hmmm…” I finished my first drink, leaving the empty glass on the table as I picked up the remaining drinks and brought them back to my group- never really taking my eyes off the girl as I followed her towards our booth. She left the bar ahead of me, but she walked straight past our table on the way back to her group over in the corner. 

“Right, I guess I’m driving then, huh?” Leah rolled her eyes, passing the drinks off down the table, sitting across from me and watching my face, studying. “Whatcha lookin at?” 

“Just some girl…” I nodded towards her, still trying to figure out what was up with her. “I’ll point her out when she comes by agan.” 

And I did, it took a few minutes or so for her to swing back around and head towards the bar, but eventually the man she was with smacked her on her nice round ass and sent her off to get the group another round of drinks, which the woman just grinded her teeth at. But she did eventually come by, and once she was off at the bar, I pointed her out. 

“That one right there, squirrel girl.” 

The woman did the same exact thing at the bar as the first time, same procedure, same posture, same attitudes- and the exact same disdain for what she was doing… or what she was being forced to do. 

She kept her gaze pointed down, her hands in her pockets where they were supposed to be, and her lips shut when she wasn’t being spoken to. 

“Isn’t that the anal addict?” Leah squinted, not taking her eyes off of the girl’s ass as she walked past the table back to her group.

“Lucy Barnett.” Anthony coughed nervously, not wanting to look at her any longer than he needed to. “Yeah, she’s the anal addict.”

Leah smirked, nudging Anthony beside her with her elbow. “Didn’t you used to date her?”

“When she was a **boy** , yeah.” Anthony scoffed. “When she was a really bottom heavy boy, yes, I dated her.” 

“I’m a bottom heavy boy~” Malcolm piped up, pouting at his fiance. 

“Yes, yes you are, baby.” Anthony giggled at him, placing a kiss on his forehead. 

I smiled at them, very briefly distracted by how cute they were together. They had this very sweet, almost slave and master type relationship, and it was heart-warming to see how well they did it together. 

Anthony worked at the slave facility, and he was rather pushy and domineering, but he didn’t have a slave. He didn’t need a slave, he had his boyfriend. He had Malcolm, and Malcolm was a pretty good boy without needing a collar around his neck to keep him in line, or a brand to mark him as his partner’s property. They were sweet, and their relationship worked well. 

But there was another couple in the room whose relationship was neither healthy nor happy, one which was the opposite of consensual, and it wasn’t Aria and I. 

She headed right beside our table on the way back to her corner, as soon as she got here I swiveled around in the booth, swinging my leg out in front of her as she stepped forward, tripping her. 

She stumbled over her own legs as she was knocked over, falling flat on her face on the ground beside our table, dropping to her knees in front of me. 

Her hands stayed in her jacket pocket the whole time, struggling to get her hands out of her pockets, unable to hold her hands out and brace herself before she fell down. 

“Let’s see what’s wrong with you then.” My whole group gasped, shocked to see me knocking some poor girl over, but even more shocked to see what I did to her next. 

She couldn’t get back onto her feet, she had no use of her hands, that much was certain. So I did what any helpful person would do, and I helped her back up. 

I kneeled next to her, just for a second, as I grabbed her by her huge bushy ponytail and yanked her to her feet with it, dragging her into the empty seat in the booth next to me. 

“Let go of me!!” She whined and shouted, but not too loudly, as she was forced into the booth right next to me. 

“And let a gorgeously stunning little squirrel like you get away?” I giggled at her, gently sliding my hands down to hers, still trapped in her pockets. “I don’t think so~”

“Get your hands off of me… please…”

“Calm down.” I cooed at her, trying to see what’s up with her hands. “I’m just trying to diagnose you is all~” 

I pulled on her arms and her hoodie just slightly, peeking in at her wrists to confirm to myself that my assumptions of what was going on were true, and it was just like I thought. 

“Handcuffs.” I smiled at her, letting go of her wrists as soon as I saw them. “Handcuffs are pretty hot… what’s your number, darling?”

“I…” She blushed. “Excuse me?”

“I asked for your number, what’s your number, Lucy?” 

“I… I’m flattered, but I’m taken, I’m sorry…”

“Not that number, Lucy… I’m not asking for your phone number-” I grinned, pulling back the clothes that she was hiding her throat behind, hooking one finger around the thick metal band clasped around her neck, pulling her collar out from behind her clothing and into view for everyone else to see. “I want to know what your slave number is~” 

“I… I **really** don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“It’s only four digits long Lucy, it’s not that hard.” I tightened my grip around her collar, making sure she knew I was threatening her. “I can always have you sent back to the facility if you don’t answer.”

“#2025, Ma’am. I’m #2025. Now please let me go.” 

“That’s always good to know, but I wonder- who do you belong to, and what possessed them to have you trod around in public like this?”

“I really shouldn’t say, Ma’am…”

“Oh come on… it’s safe to tell me~”

“Candace!!” Anthony shouted at me, sick of this already and needing it to stop. “It’s Xander Mallick, she belongs to Xander Mallick. Let her go.” 

“Guess your ex-boyfriend has your back for once~” I glanced over at Anthony before turning back to Lucy, smiling at her before letting go of her collar and setting her free. “Run along before your owner notices you’re missing.” 

She shot Anthony a very terrified glare before running off, desperate to get away from us and back to her owner’s side.

But Anthony was still not happy. “Candace, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“How did you know that, Anthony?” I just turned and glared at him, staring him directly in the eye. “How do you know who she belongs to?” 

“Because she was sold a week ago, Candace…” He frowned, his face red with shame. 

“And so was Chloe…” I kept pressing him for answers. “So how do you know who owns her?”

“Because each slave and their owner is listed in the Personnel Identity Registry, Candace. It’s our job to know…” 

“I’m not after much, Anthony…” I sighed, biting my lip. “I just want to know who she belongs to… just to make sure she’s safe…”

“I understand that, but… I think the answer will hurt you more than it’ll help you.” 

I just stared at him, blankly and unamused. That was **not** the answer I was looking for to help ease my fears. The idea that Chloe was somewhere unsafe was the opposite of what I wanted to hear right now. But it seemed like the only way to know who she was with was to ask my brother or my sister, because they were the only ones who had that kind of access to their mother’s system. 

“Come on, Aria. We’re leaving.” 

I started to grab my jacket, slowly sliding towards the end of the booth to stand up and leave, but before I could get there, I found myself bumping hips with someone that I didn’t expect to be there. 

“Leaving already?” The man scoffed. “Right after you tripped and tortured my new toy?” He set his elbow down on the table, blocking my only exit. “You should be ashamed of yourself.” 

I just glared into his eyes. I didn’t recognize him, but whoever he was, he did kind of have this swagger about him. His aura was comparable to that of my brother, Cyrus, and he looked to be around the same age too. 

He winked at me, smiling eagerly. “You can’t just knock my new servant over like she’s nothing, she’s fragile… and she has maid work to do when she gets home~” 

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” 

“Not with that attitude, clearly… the name’s Xander Mallick, you probably ought to remember that in case you run into me or my boys again, and you are?” He phrased it like a question, but after a moment, his eyes lit up with recognition as he realized exactly who I was. “You’re Candace St. Clair…”

I smiled sarcastically, rolling my eyes. “You got me~!!” 

“Well hello little beauty, what brings you ought to these parts anyways?”

“I live in these parts, Mr. Mallick.”

“Oh, is that so?” He chuckled, his eyes once again excited by a new revelation. “What do you know about slaves, Ms. St. Clair?” 

“I happen to know quite a lot about slaves actually, I’ll have you know- I used to have one.” I snarled at him, doing my best to try and intimidate him. “Used to~”

“Is that how it is, huh?” The smug bastard unfortunately didn’t seem too intimidated. “She was yours, then?” 

“She?” I swallowed nervously. “Who?”

“Sophia Cavalier, obviously.”

“Sophia Cavalier is dead, but thank you.”

“So what, she didn’t really die, you just had her shipped down here to become your slave?” He grinned, somehow able to see through me, holding his hand out to gesture something with his fingers. “You know, I was **this** close to buying her from the facility… but I had to settle for Lucy instead~” 

“You what…” I frowned, my lips tingling nervously as he mentioned her, talking as if he had seen her. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw her, I made an appointment and I went to go see her, and I was not expecting to see her there.” He reached out towards me, and for a moment I was petrified, feeling him place his fingers on my chin and lifting my head up slightly. “Just like I wasn’t expecting to see her bitter rival around here~” 

I just sat there staring at him, unsure of what to do. Hearing her name made my heart ache, thinking about her made my heart ache. Realizing that she was with someone else made my heart ache. 

“Now now pretty thing, I can’t have Sophia Cavalier… but maybe I can have Candace St. Clair, how does that sound?” He smirked, still holding me by the chin. “What do you think, want to come back to my place?” 

“Sure.” I could hear everyone just about jump out of their seat as I spoke, but I held fast, smiling at the nice man as he tried to gently lead me out of my seat and back to his table with him. “I’d love to.”

Like hell I was going anywhere with him, he wasn’t even good enough to be a rape puppet. 

I stood, waiting for him to get out of my booth before grabbing my drink from off the table, swinging it around and pouring it all out into his face. 

He did not like that at all. 

“Oh, so that’s how it is…” He growled at me, his face and coat down soaked with booze. “Let’s at least take this outside then, I’d hate to get blood all over the nice clean floors.”

“Oh no… I don’t think I can, I think my Daddy would kill you if he found out that you had your hands on me.” 

“Pfft, your daddy? Really?” He snarled. “You think your daddy stands any match against me?”

“I don’t see why not, really. He’s big, tall, strong, blonde, blue eyes, the head of the family, you can’t mistake him… You do think I look a little bit like Cardinal Russo, don’t you?” I grinned, fanning myself with my hand. “Because I would hope so, I am his daughter after all~”

Xander’s eyes turned fiery, recognizing the name enough to know that he was in too deep. “Fine, whatever… have a nice night, Ms. Russo.” 

“Leaving already?” I smiled, shaking my head as he left, turning back to my table to spot a group of my extremely annoyed friends. “What?”

“Great going Candace.” Anthony was clearly the most annoyed of the bunch. “Way to ruin dinner.” 

“Oh come on, honey. It wasn’t that bad.” Malcolm just kind of scoffed at his fiance. “That cunt had it coming.”

“That didn’t mean she needed to splash gin in his face!!”

“And wouldn’t you do the same?”

“Guys…” Aria just shook her head at them. “Can we… just go home?”

“I think that sounds like a good idea.” Leah slowly climbed out of her seat, sternly looking over me as she gently placed her hand on my shoulder. “Dinner’s on you kiddo.” 

I sighed, looking up at her before looking back to the rest of the table, realizing that she was probably right. “Yes, Ma’am…” 

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

“And where do you think you’re going?” 

Leah drove us back to my house, because I was apparently the first person to get dropped off. Yet somehow, instead of coming back inside with me, Aria assumed it was okay to try and stay in the car, with the intention of being dropped off back at her place instead. 

“I’m heading back home, Candace… I’m tired…” 

“No you’re not, you’re mine, get inside.” 

Was I being a little pushy? Sure, but I was also like five drinks down after finishing everything on the table, not wanting the alcohol to go to waste, and I was really really horny after a small run in with a bushy tailed slave at the bar- I had even had the decency to not try and claim her as my own this time, regardless of whether she belonged to another person already. 

“Can we please do this tomorrow?” Aria didn’t even look up at me, quietly sitting in the backseat of Leah’s car. “I want to sleep in my own bed tonight.” 

“Well too bad.” I smiled, grabbing her by the arm and gently tugging on her, trying to get her to come inside with me. “Please?” 

She sighed, her cheeks flushed pink as she looked over at me. “Do I have to?”

“Noooo…” I was trying, I was really trying to be better. “But I really want you to…please?” 

She sighed, letting me slowly pull her out of the car. “Goodnight Leah… Goodnight boys~” 

“Goodnight Aria~!!” Malcolm smiled, blowing her a kiss from the backseat. “And Candace?” 

“Mhmmmmmm??” I smiled, giving him a big dumb grin. “Yeeeees~??”

I waved goodbye, blowing me a kiss too. “Love ya girl.” 

“Love you too, Malcolm~!!!!” 

“Alright, let’s get you inside, Candace.” Aria gently took my arm instead, leading me towards the door and back into my house as the rest of our friends drove off. “I think it’s time for bed~” 

“I miss him Aria…” I whined at her. “I miss Malcooolm.”

“I know you do, silly.” Aria chuckled, closing the bedroom door behind us and setting me down on the couch in my room. “I miss ‘em too, y’know!!” 

“Ariaaaa, I’m gonna be his maid of honor!!” 

“I know, I was there~” She teased me, sitting down on the couch next to me after a quick run to the kitchen to get me some water. “It’ll be fun, right?”

“I can’t wait~” 

“Am I gonna be invited to their wedding, you think?”

“Have they not invited you yet?”

“I don’t know that they’ve sent out invitations.” 

“Then don’t worry about it~!!”

I picked up the glass of water and quickly shotgunned it, not wanting to get a hangover after getting so buzzed at the bar. Thankfully, Aria only seemed mildly annoyed at this. “We really shouldn’t have let you finish all of our drinks for us.”

“I bought them, I wasn’t just gonna let them go to waste~”

“Sure.” She rolled her eyes, getting back up to go get more water. “You can’t just drink your problems away when you get stressed out~” 

Aria got up and exited the room, leaving me in here alone just long enough to stand and climb into my bed. 

_What in the world is wrong with me, mom?_

Some of my best memories had been with my mom, but the rest of my favorite memories were with Chloe. I reached towards my nightstand out of instinct, grasping at the spot where I usually kept the controller to my slave’s collar. But I no longer had said controller, the only thing sitting there was that beautiful little bell that used to belong to her. 

I was going to be a better person, not a perfect person, but a better person. I was my father’s daughter and my brother’s sister, not my sister’s brother and father’s son- I was whoever I wanted to be. I was Candace St. Clair. 

I won’t be held to my father’s expectations of me, or a promise I once failed to make to my mother, I’m going to be whoever I want to be. 

I won’t be needlessly cruel or punishing anymore, I won’t be distant. I’ll hold my slaves close and I won’t let them go again. I’ll be loving, I’ll be forgiving, but I’ll be stern. I won’t abandon my friends, I won’t abandon my family, and I won’t abandon my desires. 

I can be like my father without becoming him. I was going to get what I wanted without having to hurt the people I love to get it. 

“Moment of truth, Aria.” I looked up at her as she walked into the room, catching her by surprise. “Do you want to do this with me or not?” 

There was a quiet pause as she stepped inside, the only sound in the room being the sound of her setting a glass of water onto the table across the room from me. 

“I do… really.” I could see the briefest flicker of desire in her eyes as I glimpsed into her, and she glimpsed into me. “But this isn’t going to work, and I think we both know that.” 

I bit my lip, squeezing onto the bell in my hand as I tilted my gaze to the floor. “Yeah, I know.”

“I do like you, love you even… but-” She stood there, uncomfortably stiff as she avoided my gaze. “You’re not over her, and I don’t want what you guys had.”

“You don’t want what I want.” It was clear that this little experiment between her and I had been doomed from the start. “You don’t want to be my slave.”

“If you decided to take me as your slave, I wouldn’t be able to stop you.” 

“But that’d just be proving you right, huh?”

“Yeah…” 

I looked to my wrist, the watch that served as Aria’s controller still clasped to my arm, yet to really be turned on and activated. I had already been through this, I had already gotten past my crush on Aria Fairmont. I wanted her, but the only reason I did was because I still missed Chloe, not because I still loved Aria, because I didn’t.

“You’re still not over her.” She was staring straight at the bell, still in my hand. “You’re still not over Chloe.”

“Pfft-” I scoffed at the observation, unable to keep a straight face. “How could you tell?” 

“I put together a whole dinner with our friends and you hardly looked at or talked to me… You keep talking about her, she’s always the first thing that comes to your mind.” She sighed, furling her eyebrows in what I could now recognize as jealousy. “But I think the last straw for me was when they got to talking about the wedding… I don’t know, it was just like the only thing you could think about was her.” 

“That’s cuz it’s true. I’m not over Chloe… I love her.” 

“I know you do, and… I’m sorry.” She had a look of shame on her face just thinking about it. “I’m sorry for everything I did to you two.” 

“Aria… Come clean with me…” I swallowed nervously, looking up from the bell in my hands and into her eyes. “What did you tell her?” 

She chuckled, her skin going pale with fear. “How much do you want to hear?” 

“All of it.” I glared at her, my phone in hand as I motioned towards her. “The doors are locked… I want a full confession.” 

She took a deep breath, and then she smiled, not happily but angrily, evilly, directing all of the hatred in her heart directly towards me. 

“I told Chloe to leave you.”

“Why would you-”

“Shut up, Candace.” She shot me down as soon as I tried to interrupt, her dumb little face twisted into an angry smirk as she mocked me, putting her pokerface right back on. “If you want to hear the story then at least shut up and listen.”

I paused for a moment, tense silence ringing through the air as she glared at me, nodding my head to indicate for her to continue. 

“You’ve ruined my life Candace. You ruined my life the moment you stepped into it. Because from the first moments we spoke you were weaseling your way into every facet of my existence.” She continued on cue, not letting me interrupt her any further. “You had the bizarre crush on me, like you wouldn’t let me live my life without you, from day **one** you were funnelling illegal funds straight into my pockets just to fool me into thinking that doing photoshoots with you was a lucrative business.”

These of course were things that I already knew, things that I really did, the next information here was finding out that Aria knew about that. She had figured these things out. 

“You tricked me, Candace. You tricked me into working with you, just because you wanted to fuck me.” She wasn’t just confessing everything that happened the night Chloe had been taken away, she was taking this moment to confess everything. “I kept doing photoshoots with you because I was making all of this money out of nowhere, and right when I told you no- when I turned you down, **that** was when the FBI was suddenly on my ass for all of these illegal funds that I knew nothing about.”

I chuckled, returning her angry glare straight back at her. “Pfft, that was six or seven years ago. What does this have to do with Chloe?”

“I said shut up, Candace!! Especially about **her** !! Not everything is about her, or about you, this is about me!!” She shouted angrily the moment I stepped back into the conversation. “Did you really think I wouldn’t realize it?? Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?? I got **arrested** by the FBI on suspicion of money laundering because of you!!” 

“Oh yeah?” I refused to step down, too angry to give up the fight in me. “Then why are you standing right here in front of me?”

“Because I’m an informant for the federal government, Candace.” She frowned, her heart aching in her chest, the pain bad enough to show in her face. “Or I was… until your sister’s wedding.” 

“My sister’s wedding?” I shuffled nervously in place, trying to remember the **last** wedding I had been to, over four years ago now. “What about it?” 

“You didn’t think I hung out with you for years because I was your friend?” She scoffed at the absurdity of the idea. “You don’t think I came to your sister’s wedding because I changed my mind and suddenly wanted to go on a date with you, right?” 

“I did, actually!!” Hearing all of this from her made my heart hurt. Hearing my friend say these things hurt me. “I thought you were my friend.”

“I’m just… trying to explain myself, and everything you’ve done to me… Let me finish the story before you get all hurt, please?” She licked her quickly drying lips, trying to stay composed. “Do you remember how your sister accused me of stealing from her?”

“You stole from her.” I almost gasped. “You lied to me. You really did steal from her.”

“And she caught me doing it too!!” She was struggling to keep it together, but if this was going to be her last moment to say everything she needed to say, she was going to take it. “I snuck into her office and I stole a bunch of documents to give to the FBI, things from her desk, her drawers, her cupboards… her precious VHS tape.” 

“A VHS tape?” That was the oddest part of it, the cassette tape that Aria had supposedly stolen, not because of the contents of the tape itself, but because of its seeming importance. “What kind of VHS tape?”

“It was some sort of home video of her and her father… and some other woman.” The color was quickly draining from her face as she talked about it. “I watched it too… not all of it, but some of it.” 

“And what was it?” I could hear my heart thumping, eagerly awaiting whatever it was that was on this tape of hers that she had stolen from my sister. “What was on it?” 

“Nothing you want to see.” She swallowed back the vile building up in her throat, struggling to keep herself from gagging. “Something that makes me vomit every time I think about it.”

The color was gone from her face, not because she was scared, but because she was disgusted. She was disgusted with me, and my family, my friends- everything. She was disgusted at herself. 

“I showed it all to the feds… her personal work records, the existence of the PIR, the magazines your sister had strewn about the place… Charlotte’s parcel.”

“Charlotte’s parcel?”

“That’s just what the film was **titled** , okay?” She swallowed nervously. “It wasn’t an actual parcel… that’s just what it was called.”

“Aria…” I looked on at her in disbelief. “Why would you do all of this to us?”

“Because I was scared, Candace.” Aria didn’t like to cry, but she was struggling to hold all of her tears back. “Because I was scared for my life and I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have anyone to tell me what to do, and once the FBI knew your sister was onto me… they cut contact.”

“And then what?!” I shouted at her, my stomach acid churning with anger and disbelief, mixing like a witch’s cauldron. “Once you had stolen from my family, tricked me into being your friend, and gotten found out by my sister… what did you do then?!”

“What do you think I did…” Aria coughed, the first of her tears gently running down her cheeks. “I came to you… for your protection…” 

What was hurting Aria the most was just how much she regretted it all. She was twenty-seven years old, only a year older than I was, and her entire life had been turned on her head because of me. She had been forced to work as a government informant from the ages of 21-23, barely even an adult, too young to even be considered an actual grown-up, that’s what this life did to people. It ruined them. 

“This is a lot, Aria…” I swallowed nervously, the controller to her collar still in my hand, the device to activate the kill switch around her neck still firmly in my grasp. “And I’m sorry, but… how is this about Chloe?”

“Because I love you, Candace. I really do…” She slowly lowered herself to the floor, not to her knees, but just onto the ground in a defeated puddle, leaning against the back of the couch behind her. “Don’t think that after four years of being your friend… that I don’t actually consider you my friend-” 

“Then why are you saying all of this?!”

“Because you deserve to know~!!” She shouted, the last of her energy leaving her as she looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “Regardless of why I did or whether or not I regret it… I **did** all of these things, things that I thought were morally right… and it’s time that you know. It’s time for you to know everything that’s happened to me because of you, and how it’s destroyed me…” 

And she meant it. I could tell this time. Aria really did think of me as her friend, someone who had wronged her, but she still loved all the same. She couldn’t just let things go on like they had been going on, she couldn’t just keep going like things were okay. She couldn’t keep her secrets forever. 

“Should I keep going?” She lowered her head, this time out of fear, trying to spare herself the pain of looking into my eyes. “Can I finish?” 

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in my voice as I answered her, suddenly willing to be there for her to talk to, like some priest offering to listen to a penitent confess her sins. “Finish your confession.”

“I told Chloe to leave you…” She took a deep breath, swallowing a mouthful of terror and pride as she spoke. “Everything I told her about you was true, but… I wasn’t doing it for her, I was doing it for myself…”

I just sat there, staring at her as she continued to spill everything to me, angry at her own actions more than anything. 

“I was jealous of her. I was jealous of Chloe… I was jealous of **you**.” She dug her hands into the carpet beneath her, curling her fingers into the fabrics. “It’s not right, Candace. It’s not right that you can just ruin my life, and still get anything and everything that you want… you don’t deserve her. You don’t deserve someone as innocent and good as her, you deserve to be with some worthless scumbag nobody.”

“You-” I stuttered, my voice shaking as I realized what she was saying. “You didn’t do it because you wanted revenge?”

“No… I did it because I wanted to be with you.” She shook her head, tears dripping off of her as her face moved. “But I didn't want to hurt you.” 

“Well you did it… you got your revenge anyways.” I just gazed at her weak little body, sick and drained of any color, my mouth hanging open in disbelief, tears in my eyes as my voice wavered and trembled. “Are you proud of yourself?”

“Not even slightly. I didn’t know… I didn’t know you’d react like this… to losing her…” She buckled over, finally beginning to let it all out with her sobs. “I didn’t think you actually loved her…” 

“Because how could someone like me actually love someone…” 

It hurt me to see her like this, my best friend of many years, on the floor of my bedroom as she cried her eyes out. But not quite as much as it hurt knowing that she was the reason Chloe had decided to leave me. 

“So that’s it then… you’re just giving up?” I scoffed, slowly standing up from my bed. “You’re just going to confess your sins and give up?”

“What other choice do I have?” She gently wiped the tears from her eyes, desperate not to be seen like this. “I’ve done what I can… I’ve tried the government… I’ve tried working with you and your family… I’ve tried being your lackey, but I can’t… I can’t keep lying to you.” 

She swallowed a lump of sobs and bile from inside of her throat, looking up at me in desperation. “I can’t keep hurting you…” 

“And can’t keep hurting you either.” I stood over her, looking down at her weak pitiful little body, cowering in fear from my shadow, the controller to her collar still in my hand. “Get out of my house.” 

Her eyes went wide with shock and awe, gazing up at me in fear and surprise. “What?”

“I said get out of my house.” I stared at her, getting more and more impatient. “You’re not welcome here anymore, which means you’re trespassing.”

“You… you’re not going to kill me… or-” She retched, barely keeping herself from hurling. “Or turn me into a slave…” 

“No… I won’t.” I held out the controller to her collar, dropping it into her lap. “But I won’t keep protecting you from the people who will.” 

Aria’s eyes turned warm, filled to the brim with love and adoration, her smile one of gratitude, appreciation. “Thank you…” 

I had the controller in my hand. I could have killed her right then and there… I could have enslaved her, or made her mine. But I wasn’t going to.

I didn’t deserve to have her just like I didn’t deserve to have Chloe… and if there’s one thing I had learned from these last couple of weeks, it was that I needed to be a better person, not just for my own sake, but for the sake of everyone I loved.

And that started right here.

That started with letting Aria Fairmont go. 

I wasn’t about to give up owning slaves, let’s not get ahead of things, but I was no longer going to keep slaves just to hurt them- not like I had with Chloe. 

From now on it was going to be about love… about forming a bond with someone. Something like Malcolm and Anthony have, but for real. A real master and slave bond, forged from love and commitment, and not fear or anger or hatred. 

Love. 

So that was it.

That was the piece that I was missing to solve the puzzle that was my mangled mess of a life. 

So many things converged on Aria Fairmont, exactly in this moment. Me, Chloe, my sister, my father, the FBI, even my career as a model… they all tangled together in this horrible mess of sharp piercing wires and cords, and she had been caught right in the middle of it. 

This was her grand finale, her retribution for being wronged, finally being released from it all. She had finally been let out of this tangled horrible mess that was my life, and set free. 

So there you have it, Aria Fairmont’s eleventh hour twist reveal. Weak, pathetic, and aggravating- just like her. 

But at least now we know why she did it, right? 

God damn it… why does it even matter? 

Regardless of whether Aria’s existence was intricately foreshadowed from the start or just tossed onto the page like the spear of deus ex machina, it didn’t fucking matter. 

You’re not here to hear about her, you don’t care. 

You’re not even here for me, you want Chloe… and I want to give you Chloe, I really do. But I don’t have her anymore… 

So I guess this is goodbye? 

…Maybe? 

I don’t know what you guys want. I’m just one girl. I’m just Candace… 

I don’t even like to talk to you all directly like this, because I know this isn’t **my** story, this is Chloe’s story. Chloe would never break script and speak to you guys like this, so I didn’t want to do it either. But because I don’t have her here with me anymore… I’m not really a part of her story anymore, am I?

I appreciate you guys being here to sit through this with me, I appreciate you being here every other chapter or every three chapters or something, I appreciate you checking up on me… but you guys don’t really need to hear from me. 

She’s not mine, and I’m not hers… which means I really have no right to be here anymore. 

I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make this about me, I’m really not. This is Chloe’s story, not mine… and if she wants the rest of her story to be about her and not me, then there’s no use wasting your time on me, really. 

I love you all, but I’m going to be okay. At least I hope I’m going to be okay, and if I don’t turn out okay- I kind of feel like I deserve it?

I guess what I really wanted to say is I’m sorry.

I’m sorry. 

I’m sorry for hurting her like I did, and dragging all of you through the mud on this, I’m sorry about making myself the center of everything and refusing to think about anyone else. 

In a few chapters, things are going to go back to being how they used to be, they’re going to go back to being about Chloe.

Not me. Not my sister. Chloe. In a few chapters it’s just going to be her… and you~

The next time you hear from me- specifically from my point of view- will be the last time, at least for a while. Until by some stroke of blind luck when Chloe decides she wants me to be a part of her life again, or by some miracle you all decide that you miss me and want to hear from me again, I’ll be gone. 

I miss Chloe a lot, but I understand. 

You’re right to think that she’s better off with whoever she’s with now because I really see no reason to think otherwise. Regardless of whoever she’s with, I have no reason to think that she’s not better off than she was with me… 

But that’s all I wanted to say, I don’t want this to get too wordy or too long, I just wanted to say-

I’m sorry and goodbye.

I’ll see you guys in a couple of chapters just to finish up my little character arc, and then I’ll get out of your hair, I promise.

I’m going to miss you guys and gals a lot, thank you so much for going through this with me. I love you all, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. 

_Yours for just a little bit longer,  
_ _Candace Emmilice Saint Clair._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucy?
> 
> Find out more about Lucy's life before being a slave [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27156419/chapters/66320813)


	28. Master Plan

Sunday had been more of the same. It turns out Claudia needed a day to have some quality time with her family, and really just liked holing me up in the cell when I wasn't needed, eager to torture me with dirty magazines and porn that I was unable to masturbate to. 

But it was finally Monday, the beginning of the week, and my new master had been merciful enough to let me out of my cell for the day, encouraging me to find work to do. 

But what was I… supposed to do? 

She hadn’t so much as given me instructions, she just expected me to work. It was a double edged sword, because on one hand I had no clue what I was doing, but on the other hand… I had the freedom to explore the whole house and formulate an escape plan- if only just for fun. 

_Step one- Avoid everyone else in the house_

This was easier said than done, obviously, unlike Candace’s house, Claudia’s was packed with not just her, but her family and her other slaves. 

The easiest person to avoid, ironically, was Claudia. But the only reason this was the case was because she left for work on a daily basis, Monday through Friday. Thanks to this, there was quite simply a chunk of the week where she just wasn’t here. 

The next most powerful person to worry about was Claudia’s wife, Josephine, my apparent doppelganger. She spent her days living the good life, lounging around and masturbating- when she was permitted to by her wife of course. The easiest way to avoid her was just to make my moves when she was in one of her near constant heats, because when she got like that, she stayed in her room. When Claudia disallowed her from doing so however, she was out of the bedroom a lot more often, sometimes with her daughter, but mostly with one of her two slaves.

Speaking of her two slaves, Darcey and Autumn might not hold much power, but their movements were a lot more sporadic. Especially Darcey, who was all over the place cleaning the house. Out of my fellow slaves, she was going to be the most difficult to avoid while on the job. Autumn was a little bit easier to avoid, she cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her masters. What that meant was that she was usually in the kitchen or in the dining room, I just needed to memorize her movement patterns for when she made trips up to either Josephine or Lilian to deliver their food to them. 

Speaking of Lilian, she was going to be the most difficult to predict out of the bunch. Sure, she spent most of her time in her room with her nanny, but she was five years old and that made her impossible to predict. That was especially the case thanks to Zenna, a scared little cat who let the child lead her around the house instead of actually babysitting her. 

But if I could manage to successfully avoid Lilian, that meant I could avoid Zenna as well. She was likely going to be relatively easy to avoid, but out of all of the slaves, she was probably the one who’d end up being the most dangerous to be caught by. We shared a master, and Zenna was fiercely loyal to Claudia like I had been to Candace, if she caught me doing something I wasn’t supposed to do, I would be in instant trouble with Claudia. 

But that just left one person- Nell. 

Nell was Claudia and Josie’s enforcer, which just meant it was their job to make sure slaves stayed in line. If they caught me doing something wrong, I was as good as dead. The only way to avoid them was going to be to know where they were at all times. 

But there it was, I knew how to avoid the rest of the people in the house- that just left me with a brand new problem. 

_Step two- Getting into places_

Sure, I could just avoid everywhere in the house I could potentially run into someone.

But that would leave me with nowhere to actually go.

Avoiding Josephine and Lilian in their respective bedroom’s would also probably mean staying away from their doors, and aside from the conservatory, that basically meant the whole second floor was off limits- and the second floor was literally half the house. 

Yes, I could snoop around the conservatory, but the conservatory walls were two thirds glass panels that overlooked the outside world. Putting aside the embarrassment factor of being seen through that window from the outside, the conservatory was huge, and Darcey had to keep those windows clean. 

Even worse for me was the fact that there was a huge gaping hole in the second floor, which directly overlooked the ballroom below. So even being in the ballroom exposed me to being seen by anyone on the second floor balcony. 

That might have been bad enough, but the first floor was maybe even worse. 

There were no walls or doors separating the dining room from the adjacent ballroom, there was no privacy to be had in the ballroom. Autumn might have spent most of her time in the kitchen and dining room, but that just meant she had an almost constantly clear view of the entirety of the ballroom on the other side of the dining room from the kitchen. The fact that she was always in one of those two rooms did make her a little bit easier to avoid, but it blocked off a huge portion of the bottom floor in the process. 

Our room was on the first floor, and it was theoretically perfectly safe, but it was also completely and utterly useless to me. Stripped of anything and everything that could help us escape, and to make matters worse- Nell’s room was right next to ours. 

That was one thing that I didn’t realize when I first got here, the enforcer lives here too. They got paid of course, Nell wasn’t one of Claudia’s slaves, they were here to keep the slaves in line, and that was not a job you could entrust to one of said slaves. 

The sitting room was on the other side of the house from our bedroom, but it was also practically open to the rest of the house. Nobody spent any extreme amount of time in there, save for Lilith when she was here, but it was the most vulnerable place to be spotted. If at any point, Nell decided to go to their office, they would be able to hear me inside of the sitting room. I was fucked. 

There was only one last home to finally find a way out of here. Claudia’s office. 

_Step three- Getting into Claudia’s office_

My master’s home was largely symmetrical, save for one thing, her office. 

It was a little bit odd actually, her office was awfully disconnected from the rest of the house, it was like it was an addition built onto the house later, like a tumor growing on the outside of the manor. 

But it was also the solution to all of my previous problems, because it didn’t matter if I couldn’t lurk around the rest of the house if the key to getting out of this place was in there. 

And it likely was. 

I was after one thing, the controller to my collar, that was my first step towards freedom. 

Claudia wasn’t going to keep the controller to my collar or the keys to unlock the doors in any rooms where the other slaves could reach them. That meant the dining room, kitchen, conservatory, and even Lilian’s bedroom were all useless to me anyways. She likely wouldn’t even keep it in her own bedroom, probably not trusting her wife to take good care of the thing anyways. Who needed to be in the ballroom or the foyer or the sitting room when the key I was searching for was probably in Claudia’s office? 

I just need to get into her office and find the damn thing. 

_Step four- Getting into the vestibule_

That leads me to my next problem, the vestibule. 

Getting into Claudia’s office in the first place wasn’t going to be an easy task, because the only door into Claudia’s office was as close to freedom as the door into the vestibule. I would have to cross the vestibule to even get into Claudia’s office in the first place, and it would be stupid to let slaves enter freely into the vestibule, they had no reason to get into their master’s office, which meant they had no reason to have access to the vestibule, because freedom was very strictly not an option for them. 

I just needed to find a way to get into the vestibule, which meant finding someone capable of opening the vestibule, which was one of two people- Josephine or Nell. 

_Step five- Nell_

“Hey, Chloe?” 

I was snapped back to attention, quickly being broken out of my all devouring train of thought by a voice that I was still getting used to hearing. 

“Don’t just stand around, get to work or be in your room.”

Nell, coming to check on me during their regular rounds around the house. The big thing that stood in my way was my master’s enforcer, Nell Monet- and why shouldn’t they be? That was their job. 

But clearly they were also my only hope of escape. 

“I need you to move so that I can get outside, Chloe.” They stood there, tapping their foot impatiently, a mildly amused smile painted onto their face as they waited for me to leave, a pair of physical keys in hand. “Well go on, scoot back. I’m not gonna open the door until I know you’re not going to run out after me.” 

“Go.” They pointed off towards the hallway, sending me out of the sitting room and back into the rest of the house. They didn’t so much as give me something else to do as much as they just told me to leave the sitting room. Sort of like when a bartender says _you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here_. 

“Right, thank you.” I smiled and bowed before turning around and heading back into the house, sighing to myself as I headed upstairs for no particular reason than to get away from them. 

_I need a plan, I need something to do. I need… something to work on._

Okay so maybe I was going through this vast mental exercise of trying to formulate a way out for one reason and one reason alone, I was bored. 

I don’t **actually** plan on escaping this place, or my new master. This was my life now, I lived here and had nowhere else to go- I just didn’t have a job yet, not really. 

She had brought me here claiming to need a new maid, but she hadn’t given me any duties yet. That was something that Candace never failed to do, give me something to accomplish for her. There was one thing I never had a complaint about, there was always work to do, something to preoccupy myself with, but not here. While Claudia was gone and the other slaves did all of the work around the house that really needed to be done, I was just sitting around doing nothing. 

I’m going to get into Claudia’s office, not because I wanted to escape, but because I wanted into Claudia’s office. Though, importantly, if I had the chance to escape I would definitely consider taking it. 

_What am I supposed to do?_

I headed up the stairs, trying to explore the house for exploration’s sake. There was a lot less to see on the second floor, and even less of what was there was accessible to me. I peered over the balcony down to the beautiful ballroom below, admiring it for its gorgeous sights and decorations

It really was pretty here, Claudia had a decadence about her that Candace lacked, something I had dreamed of being a part of since I was a kid. It just sucked that I was a slave, which just meant that I couldn’t be allowed to fully enjoy it. 

I would really like to dance in a ballroom like that someday, the love of my life in hand as we twirled and spun and embraced each other, kissing passionately under the magnificent lights and chandeliers above. 

_I’m never going to get married._

The realization hit me like a bullet train, grinding my heart to bits between the rails. I was never going to have that moment that every girl dreamed of, walking down the aisle to meet with the love of my life on the altar. I was never going to have a wedding. 

Since I was a girl I dreamed of having a huge magnificent wedding, dreams of a time and a place where I wouldn’t have to be that orphan girl who lived a life of destitution and poverty, if only for just a moment. 

I was never going to have a wedding. I was never going to get married. I was never going to have a wife. That was the part that struck me so hard, I was never going to that love of my life to dance under the chandelier with, I was never going to have someone to call mine. My love. 

I belonged to Claudia now, and I was going to devote my life to her to the best of my ability, but I was really nothing more than a dog to her. I was an animal, not a person, I didn’t deserve a wedding anyways. 

It didn’t even hurt me to know that really, I could accept being treated like a beast, I almost embraced it. But no matter how hard I tried to devote myself to her, I was never going to be the love of her life. No matter how much I looked like Josephine, Claudia was already married. Claudia had a wife and a daughter, and there was no getting in the way of that. 

I respected that. But at the same time, it disappointed me. I was never going to have a wedding like Claudia and Josephine had. I would never get married like Cyrus and Liz, Malcolm and Anthony, or even Cardinal and Lilith while their marriage lasted. Hell, I wasn’t even going to be invited to Malcolm and Anthony’s wedding. 

Candace. Candace was going to get to be at their wedding. Candace was going to get married someday and I wasn’t even going to be there to witness it, I would probably never see another wedding in my life, especially not my own. 

I sighed, turning away from that ballroom that I so desperately wanted to dance inside, heading into the conservatory. It was this huge sprawling thing with the exterior walls built of panels of huge thick glass, the room lit by the natural glow of the sun outside, raining rays of sunshine down on the array of plants that lines the inside of the conservatory. 

I put my hand to one such glass panel and peered outside, gazing down at the world around us. I was less than a pet here, because at least dog’s got to go outside for a walk every once in a while.

 _Dogs._ I gasped loudly, clasping both of my hands over my lips to keep myself from shrieking, remembering something important that had somehow slipped my mind for the last several days. 

_Poppy._

Just as soon as I’d gotten into the conservatory, I was on my way back out, making a beeline back downstairs. 

Now I had a real reason to get into my master’s office. 

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

The plan was simple. Stay away from everyone else in the house, and avoid detection by Nell for long enough to find some way of getting into the vestibule from the sitting room and from there, into Claudia’s office to find Poppy. 

I felt like an actual convict in a prison, trying to get a hold of the warden’s keys in order to unlock the doors that trapped me here. 

Nell tried to mix up their walking patterns as they did rounds to check up on the slaves, but sometimes they got lazy and fell into a few of the same routines. And it often went something like this:

_Step one- Check up on Autumn_

Autumn was always the easiest to locate, she was in the kitchen. That was where her master’s figurative shackles bound her into service. When it was time for Nell to check up on Autumn, one of two things usually happened.

The most likely and most often outcome was for Nell to just peek into the dining room and check for movement inside of the kitchen across from them. They couldn’t always be sure that it was Autumn in there, but they often got lazy and took it as enough evidence that Autumn was in there. 

The next most likely outcome was for Nell to be spotted **by** Autumn, and when that happened, strangely enough, Nell usually got roped into whatever Autumn wanted to show them, and practically got dragged all the way into the kitchen with her. It was for that reason that Nell often tried to stay at a distance, because if Autumn knew they were there, she was going to want them to help consult on whatever she was doing. 

Though one of those two things usually happened, there was a third less likely scenario, Nell was hungry. It happened at most once a day, Nell would cross the dining room unprompted, and head into the kitchen to eat something. This was maybe the most desirable time for me to strike, knowing they were preoccupied. 

_Step two- Check up on Zenna_

In trying to diversify their movement pattern, Nell usually walked upstairs next instead of checking the rest of the first floor, though this also could have been in an attempt to avoid Autumn. 

Nell could check to make sure the ballroom was free of slaves by looking down through the second floor balcony, which cut out the need to be in the ballroom entirely. 

In the process of doing this though, Nell found themselves on the second floor, conveniently right where Lilian’s room was located, which meant it was the perfect time to check up on Zenna. Like I had noted earlier, Lilian was practically in complete control of Zenna, and the pair spent most of their time in the girl’s room, though not always. 

Conveniently enough however, the other rooms the two were bound to be in were either the conservatory or the ballroom below, both of which could be seen from up on the second floor. 

_Step three- Check up on Darcey_

Where in the world is Darcey Peyton? Your guess is as good as mine. 

She was chaotic, full of energy, and a little bit stupid. Unlike Nell or I, she did not at all put in any effort to maximize effectiveness or optimize movement patterns when it came to cleaning, at least that’s what it looked like. 

She cleaned the whole house throughout the course of the day, but she seemed to pick places to clean at random. Conservatory, foyer, ballroom, sitting room, dining room- she could be literally anywhere. 

This was what made tracking Nell’s movements a lot harder, not because their patterns were hard to figure out, but because Darcey’s were impossible to determine. The brainless little ditz was all over the place all of the time, throwing everything off its rhythm. 

But she was likely to be on the first floor, just thanks to the sheer size difference between the ground floor and the one above, and thankfully she had one other weakness that helped pinpoint her location- she liked taking a lot of breaks. 

I couldn’t really blame her either, out of all the slaves, her work was the least intellectual and most physical. Cleaning was taxing, not just on her nonexistent brain, but also on the body. This just meant that between cleaning rooms, she often took a break in one of the broom closets, usually the one nearest the kitchen. 

_Step four- Check up on Chloe_

After checking the other slaves off of their list, Nell’s final job was to track **me** down, which was the most dangerous part of trying to avoid them, because they were deliberately hunting me. 

This was the riskiest phase of Nell’s movement, and it really did feel like I was being hunted down by an alien menace that was out to devour me. Nell still didn’t know how to track me down, which usually meant just blindly checking rooms looking for me. 

Once again, the only way to avoid them during this stage was to know where they were at all times and to be somewhere else, which was extremely difficult when the point was trying to stay away from them. 

It took me a whole morning of stealthily stalking Nell throughout the house to even get this information in the first place, but it was worth it in the end. Hopefully they hadn’t taken notice of me doing so, following them through the entire house to observe them. 

I just had to put my own plan into action. 

_Step five- Nell’s office_

“Hey??? Chloe???” 

Once again, I was brought back to attention by Nell, snapping their fingers at me to make sure I was listening to them as they talked. 

“Are you doing anything right now?” 

It took me a few moments to get out of my own head, turning off my dumb overanalytical gamer brain and returning to the real world, standing in the bedroom I shared with the other three girls as I formulated a plan instead of doing actual work. 

“N-no. Not right now, my apologies.” My cheeks flushed bright red, ashamed at myself for getting so preoccupied. “I’ll get right back to work, I’m sorry.” 

“Can you come with me to my office instead?”

“Y-your office?” I swallowed nervously. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, actually. We just have a guest here to check up on you.” 

“A guest? For me?” 

“Just follow me to my office, okay?” They smiled, extending their hand for me to take. “He’s my brother, he doesn’t bite, I promise.”

“Your brother?” That just confused me even more. “Why would your brother want to see me, boss?” 

“It’s family business, Chloe.” They rolled their hand, gesturing for me to take it. “Usually being a part of this business means bringing your whole family into things, siblings and children alike. He works for the family too.” 

“Alright… My apologies.” I bowed ever so slightly as a form of apology, smiling at them. It didn’t really occur to me, but of course that was the case. Being a part of this life meant that your brothers, sisters, or siblings were likely in it with you, it wasn’t called a family business for no reason. 

“Now come on, before I have to pull you by the nipples.” They let me grab them by the hand, leading me back out into the hallway and over towards their office right next door, so at least this eliminated the need to find a secret way into the enforcer’s room without being noticed. “He’s from the facility, he’s just here to do a follow up mental evaluation after being sold, nothing too bad.”

_Oh no…_

I stepped inside, swallowing nervously. I had gotten a mental evaluation at the facility as well, and I still remembered who had been there to give it to me. 

“Here she is.” Nell closed the door behind us, pulling out a chair beside the desk that their brother was sitting at, his current bodyguard standing behind him. “Have at her.”

It was about a third of the usual rabble from the slave facility. Cyrus’ right hand and favorite bodyguard, Phil Burke, standing in the back behind Nell’s brother- Anthony Schmitt. 

“Hey, Chloe.” He smiled warmly at me, waving just slightly. “I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.” 

Clearly Claudia wasn’t the only person who lived here that had a brother working at the facility, despite the odds. I thought I had seen the last of him, but suddenly he was sitting right in front of me, Malcolm’s boyfriend. 

“I had to miss a housecall to come out and see you today.” He chuckled, his usual clipboard in hand. “Rebecca is out giving another girl an IUD, and she had to bring Jane with her, can you believe that?”

Phil chuckled, the usually silent man giving his colleague the briefest smile as he rolled his eyes, looking as imposing as ever as he glanced over at me, addressing me in a rare moment of speech for him. “We only do this for the special slaves, it’s like a five day free return policy.”

“Oh knock it off.” Anthony shook his head at the other man before turning back to me. “We usually offer to take a slave back or put them down ourselves after the first five days, but it doesn’t look like your master wants to get rid of you~” 

I didn’t realize that I had nervously tensed up until I felt that tension release from me, sighing in relief. “Thank you, Sir… I’m glad to hear it.” 

I had so many questions flying through my brain, but I was in no position to ask them, I was in no position to question what was to be done with me, it was my place to sit down and do as told. 

And so I took a seat across from him, sitting up straight, keeping my eyes pointed at the floor, and my hands safely tucked into my lap. 

“Let’s get started then.” He flipped open the clipboard, clicking his pen. “Just like last time, if I had you rate your level of anxiety on a scale of seven, where would you put it?” 

“Seven, Sir…” I bit my lip, hanging my head in shame. I didn’t want that to be my answer, but it was true, I was as anxious as I ever was. 

“Just like last time, huh?” He wrote that down, still smiling gently. “And the same with your depression?” 

I swallowed nervously, smiling ever so slightly as I answered. “Seven…”

I could also see the flash of amusement in his eyes as he wrote that answer down. Last time he asked me that question, the answer had been eight, and we were the only people in the room who knew that. 

“Good to know.” He motioned at Phil, pointing him towards me. “Physical examination.” 

Phil just nodded, slowly walking over to me and pulling me up to my feet by my arm, rather than instructing me to stand up. I was at least grateful that he didn’t pull me by the chain connecting my nipples, even if he didn’t ask, leading me to where Anthony was now standing. 

The nurse brushed back my hair with his pen, examining my ears first to make sure they had recovered from being molded into points. “Left ear seems healthy, but… keep an eye on that right ear and let your master know if it gets worse.” 

I didn’t answer, I didn’t have time to answer before he moved onto the rest of my face, gently tugging on my nose ring to make sure it was alright. “The nose piercing seems fine. No bruises on her face to speak of, good job with that. No split lips or cuts on or in her mouth. Eyes look a little bit off though.”

I had to resist the urge to shoot one hand up to my eye to figure out what was wrong with it, instead trying to remain as still as possible as he continued to look me over. 

“Has anything strange happened with your eyes lately?”

“No, Sir. Not that I have noticed.” 

“Hmm… I’m not an eye doctor, or I’d do a full evaluation.” He gently tugged on my eyelids, staring me directly in the pupils. “Do you have a prescription that you're not using, 0000?” 

0000, that’s what my name was, not Chloe, but a number. “I’m supposed to have glasses while reading, but I never have, Sir.” 

“That’d explain it…” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Have you been doing a lot of reading, Chloe?” 

“No, Sir. Not that I can-” I stopped mid sentence, considering the question a little bit harder, my cheeks turning red. “Actually… Master has left me in my cell to read magazines for a couple of days, Sir.”

“Well unless you want to end up near-sighted, think about doing less of that, okay? Slaves don’t really need to read or write anyways.”

“But, Sir-” I began to protest before halting myself, not wanting to give up reading and looking at the magazines Candace was in. “I… yes, Sir… sorry.” 

He smiled, nodding his head and gesturing for Nell to come join us. “I need the corset off to check that her brand has burned over correctly.” 

“Right.” Nell stepped out from behind their desk, stepping up to me so that they could do as their older sibling asked them. 

Just for a moment, out of curiosity, I looked up from the ground and glanced over at the enforcer’s desk, trying to figure out what they kept in here. Sure enough, they opened up one of the top drawers of their desk and pulled out a ring of keys, equipping themself to unlock and remove my rather tight waist corset. 

_They don’t carry their keys on them._

It was almost a stroke of luck that Nell didn’t carry the keys on them regularly. Clearly they had a job thanks to their brother, Anthony, so they didn’t exactly have the best qualifications for being an enforcer like Leah or Phil, but I was lucky that it was them and not someone better at the job. 

“Let’s get a look at you.” As soon as the corset was off, I felt Anthony’s hands on my waist, examining my skin to make sure it had recovered. 

It stung to the touch, the feeling of someone’s fingers tracing along where her initials once were made my skin tingle. I could feel the goosebumps taking over me, my body shivering at the cold sensation, my lungs burning with the heat of my own breath at being reminded of it. 

I didn’t care who it was at this point, I didn’t want to be thrown around like a rape doll, I just wanted to feel a pair of nice loving hands holding onto my hips. But I couldn’t really get that with Claudia, her marriage with her wife wasn’t exactly an open relationship, the only reason she let us in was because we were slaves.

We weren’t people. It wasn’t cheating because we weren’t considered anything more than property, we were just objects, sex toys, playthings. Having sex with us was just like masturbating to them. 

Or at least that’s what it felt like to me when she touched me, when anyone touched me, but there was still something nagging me in the back of my mind. 

_Why does she have so much porn of Candace?_

It didn’t make sense, it really didn’t. Claudia was so faithful to her wife, even if she did make exceptions when it came to slaves, they were just toys to them both after all. But Candace wasn’t just a **real** person, she was Claudia’s little sister. 

It made me a little bit nervous just to think about, trying to figure out why she had them. I wasn’t sure what to think of it really, it was mildly disturbing. The two of them hadn’t seen each other in so long, but Claudia still had a portrait of her little sister hanging in the ballroom, as well as dozens of magazines with naked pictures of Candace in them- it didn’t seem quite right, it just wasn’t sitting well with me. 

The two of them were only half-sisters, that much I knew for sure. But I didn’t know what that meant for Candace in Claudia’s eyes. It was clearly that my new master saw slaves differently from people, but Candace was more than a little bit different. 

It wasn’t just because Candace and Claudia had been born to different mothers, but because Candace’s mother had been a slave. So what did that mean to her older sister? What did that make her in Claudia’s eyes? Was Candace some sort of half-slave to her? Is that why there were all these photos? 

Whatever it was, it wasn’t my business. I didn’t have the right to concern myself with that, so I wasn’t going to, I wasn’t allowed to. 

“Brand looks like it’s healed pretty nicely, the other one is practically untouched.” Anthony finally took his hands off of me, gesturing over at his sibling to put my corset back on. “She’s good to go~” 

I felt the corset being tightened around my waist, locked into place on my body by my master’s enforcer before they finally set the keys back down in the drawer of their desk. That was their first mistake, putting the keys somewhere I could reach. 

“Is that all, Sir?” I turned around to face him, letting him examine my arms and my nipples, to make sure Claudia hadn’t completely ripped them off of me. 

“Your nipples are pretty strong actually~” He smiled at me, gently patting me on the head, which I allowed him to do. “She’s good to go, you can have her start doing proper slave work right away.” 

_So that’s what she’s been waiting for._

I’d spent most of the last five days either exploring my surroundings, getting used to the new people in my life, and sitting in a cell- but it hadn’t occurred to me that the reason I hadn’t been assigned any actual work had been because my new owner wanted me to have a secondary evaluation by the doctor’s to make sure I was physically and mentally safe to start my new life here. 

It was actually kind of sweet of her to do, giving me a little bit of an adjustment period before having to do any actual work. Candace never did that for me, that’s for sure. 

Nell and their brother seemed to be going back and forth with each other now that the evaluation was over, a lot more friendly with each other than Candace and any of her siblings. 

“I might stick around for awhile just to visit, if that’s okay?” 

“Of course it is, don’t worry about it.”

“I have a dinner to go to tonight with some friends, so I can’t stay long.” 

“Well don’t let **me** keep you~”

“No, it’s fine I promise. We have wedding details to talk about.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Well yeah, you’re going to be part of my wedding court aren’t you?”

“If you want me to be, sure~”

“We can’t talk about it more in a minute.” He chuckled, gesturing to me. “Chloe’s good to go now, if you want to take her~” 

“Yeah, I probably should.” Nell rolled their eyes, quickly retrieving the keys from their desk before grabbing me by the arm and beginning to escort me out of the room. “Let’s get you upstairs~” 

“Upstairs?” I swallowed nervously, unsure of why I was being taken upstairs. “Don’t I have work to do now?” 

“Yeah, you do- upstairs.” They rolled their eyes at me, swiveling around the doorway and back towards the bedroom I shared with the other slaves, making a beeline for the dumbwaiter. “You’re a slave, do as you’re told.” 

“Y-yes, boss. My apologies…” 

_Drat. This isn’t how I wanted this to go._

I could even see the keys in Nell’s hands as I obediently followed them to the cell, stepping into the tiny slave elevator as they opened it for me. This wasn’t according to my plan. The plan was to wait until Nell was preoccupied with their brother and sneak into their office to steal the keys, that way I could get into Claudia’s office. Getting sent up the service elevator straight into the master bedroom was not at all part of the plan.

But Nell did it anyways, just as they were supposed to, letting me ride it all the way upstairs, using those keys I needed to activate the lift. “Have fun up there, she’s kind of in a heat~” 

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

The elevator door slowly opened back up, releasing into the room where my superiors slept, but amazingly Josie wasn’t in bed this time. 

I was even less surprised than I was disappointed, and I was the opposite of disappointed to quickly realize that my master’s wife, Josephine, was in the bath. At least she was in the bath, but by the time I had quietly knocked and opened up the door into the master bathroom, it seemed like she was already done. 

It was a downright sauna. The master bathroom was the biggest I had ever seen in my entire life, bigger than I had ever even dreamed of- and that bathtub was practically a swimming pool. It was so big that it had to have several shower nozzles around the wall to help cover the entirety of it while one was showering, and it had just as many bath nozzles for filling the tub with, plus a sliding screen door that closed around the whole thing, rather than a simple curtain. 

“Slave!!” Josie scoffed at me as she saw me entering, her tone angrier than it was surprised. “Don’t walk in on rooms without knocking, you’re not meant to be in here!!” 

Before I had the chance to bow and apologize, I was on my knees, thanks to a very familiar sensation- my shock collar, doing its job of keeping me in line. Josie had gotten out of the shower and begun drying off, she was completely naked save for a few things, it seemed like she kept her jewelry on when she was bathing.

And among the jewelry she was wearing were four waterproof bracelets around her wrists, two on each hand. The shock controllers for each of the four slaves that she and her wife owned. Darcey, Autumn, Zenna, and me. 

So that’s where they were, Claudia didn’t need them, she had her cane to keep us in line- and she didn’t see any of us as a threat to begin with. But Josephine, she was vulnerable to us when we decided to misbehave, which was extremely evident by the way I seemed to conquer her in bed just a few nights prior. Of course she was the one to have the controllers, it just made sense. Claudia wouldn’t leave them around unused, and neither she nor Nell really seemed to need them, so she left them with Josie. Not in her office, but on her trophy wife, to make sure the love of her life wasn’t harmed. 

“Save dropping to your knees for later, Chloe.” I gasped, a murmuring breath escaping my lips as I felt her soft gentle hands grabbing me by the chin, lifting my face to look up at her. “I want those lips wet and ready to serve me, okay?” 

I blinked, regaining my senses and my posture as I looked up at her, my cheek gently resting against the palm of her hand. “Yes, Ma’am.”

She stood over me, just as hot as she always had been as she held my attention to her. “And be submissive this time, please?” 

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll remember my place this time.” I licked my lips, trying to get them wet like I was told to as I continued to kneel there in front of her. I set my hands on the ground in front of me, palms up to show her that I was disarmed and vulnerable, my fingers splayed rather than clenched into fists. “I know who and what I am, I promise.”

“Climb under my vanity and wait for me, okay?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Whatever you say~”

I shook with just a little bit of excitement, kneeling beneath the low hanging surface of Josie’s vanity. As soon as I was out of view, my fists were back to being clenched shut, struggling to hold myself together. 

My hands trembled in my fishnet sleeves, the chain connected to my nipples heavy as they hung, draped over me. I looked up as she sat down in front of me, my eyes level with her hips, my vulva quivering with need against the cold steel clasping around my waist, keeping me locked away from pleasure. 

“Before I let you pleasure me with my mouth, I need you to answer two questions for me.” Josephine leaned forward, backing me against the wall, preventing me from crawling out from under her vanity as she got herself all pretty again. “Do you believe in destiny?” 

“Ma’am, I-” I swallowed nervously, gazing longingly at the penis tucked between her legs, waiting to be forced into my mouth. “I don’t think it’s my place to think about things like that.” 

“Except when you’re being told to.” I could hear the sounds of her at her vanity above, but I couldn’t see what it was she was doing. “Do you believe there’s a reason that you’re here with us, and not with your last master?”

“Of course there’s a reason Miss, I wouldn’t have been taken away otherwise.” 

“Taken away?” Josie instantly closed in on my little verbal slip up. 

“I… I mean gotten rid of, Miss. If my last master still wanted me, she wouldn’t have gotten rid of me like she did.” 

“Let me rephrase my question then- do you believe there’s a reason you’re here with us, and not with someone else, whoever that may be?”

“Must I answer that, Miss?” 

“All I’m telling you is to answer two questions for me, and this is one of them. Do you believe in destiny?” 

The floor of their bedroom was carpeted, soft plush and nice, I could certainly be somewhere words. I ran the palm of my hand over the soft floor, feeling the threads through the holes of my fishnet gloves, fingerless and decorated with little chains like the one that hung between my breasts. Unlike the heavy bronze link that ran from one nipple to another however, these little chains ran from wrist to finger- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 of them- and they dangled just slightly, only enough to be gently tugged on. A guiding hand could take those little cords and control me, like a puppet on some strings for them to lead. 

“I don’t.” Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I clenched just one hand back into a fist, defensively. It was like I was trying to close myself back up, to protect myself. “I’m sorry, Miss Josephine. I don’t really think there’s any significance to it being the two of you, and not somebody else.” 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think she picked you because of how similar we look, you and I. You know what I think it is?” Without missing a beat, she continued. “I think she has some sort of fantasy she dreams of doing that she can’t do with **me** , so she wants you to be there to fulfill them for me~”

“You mean like… pretending I’m you?” 

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, yeah.” She chuckled at the thought of it, extending one of her legs towards me beneath her vanity, gently setting it on top of my thigh. “Maybe she wants to do things with you that she can’t do with me, for entertainment purposes.”

“For entertainment…” I blushed, looking down past my frilly translucent skirt, staring at the chastity belt clasped to my waist. “Like keeping me locked away for days on end?”

“Oh, I would absolutely lose it if she tried to do that to me~!!” I could feel Josie’s foot shake as she shivered. “Pleasure is all I do, it’s all I’m good for.”

“All you’re good for?” I looked up at her, a bright red blush on my face. “But you’re… a real person, Ma’am.” 

“That I am, and you’re not… so I suppose it’s a little more complicated. But I’d still lose my mind if I had to stay locked away like that, thank you very much~”

“What do you think I’m good for, Miss?”

“Entertainment. Excitement, pleasure, competition. You’re good for entertainment, whether on the big screen, the little screen, or in the home- you’re good for entertainment.” She sighed, once again rubbing my thigh with her foot. “Forgive my normal theatrics, of course, but clearly you’re not so good at answering questions~”

I blushed, holding my skirt up just slightly with my hands to keep my thigh free from obstruction for her. “My apologies, Ma’am… there was something more you wanted to ask.”

“Yes. A second question before I let you at my cock with that mouth of yours.” She gently retreated her foot from my leg. “What’s your favorite type of film?”

“My… favorite type of film?” 

“Mine are musicals.” She coughed slightly. “Hence the theatrics~” 

_My favorite type of film?_ It was an extremely specific question to be asking me, especially after that last one. “Horror. I’ve always been a big fan of horror films.”

“Horror… Interesting. Existential and thoughtful kinds of horror films? Or the more… ugly and bloodied ones?”

“I’m not sure, Ma’am. I’ve always liked them both.” I paused, my heart aching slightly as my stomach churned, a lot less fond of the horror films that I used to love, especially now that I was living in one. “I used to like Saw, but… I guess I’m more keen on playing horror games now, or I was.” 

“We don’t have anything like that here, unfortunately.”

“Perfectly understandable, Miss.” 

“So you’re more keen on finding yourself as the protagonist of a horror game instead, is that it?” 

“What’s that, Ma’am?”

“You’d rather find yourself playing and living through the experience, instead of watching as a spectator~” 

“No, Ma’am. Not at all.” I bit my lip, one hand clenched to my chest as I tried to exorcise those thoughts out of me. I didn’t want to go anywhere near the terrors of Dead Space or the Silent Hill, and most certainly not as a victim in Saw- that was the ultimate nightmare scenario for me. “I’d like to live in relative safety, Ma’am… I can behave if it means not having to live through something like that, please?”

“Well there’s no use asking me, it’s up to my wife what the future holds for her slaves. But hopefully the next act of your life doesn’t turn out to be any sort of horror movie for you.” She giggled to herself. “Though, I don’t think it’ll be much of a musical, I can say that much right now~”

“Ma’am…” I choked, suddenly a lot more terrified of Claudia than I already was. “I would like to stop talking about this…” 

“It doesn’t really matter what you would like, does it?” 

“No Miss, not even in the slightest, I promise.” All of a sudden, I quite possibly could have found a reason to run away. “I understand my place.”

“Good, now remember your place going forward.” She gently spread her legs, beckoning for me to come in and deepthroat her. “Now go ahead and try again, just like last time- but submissively.” 

“Submission will be second nature, I swear.” I quickly closed in, still kneeling in front of her as I brought myself close to her cock, wrapping one of my gloved hands around it and pointing it towards my mouth. “I’m sorry…”

“I won’t let the wicked witch get to you as long as you behave, Chloe.” She gently reached beneath the table, finding my hair so that she could curl her fingers in it. “I may be her wife, but once you peel back the curtain, there’s not much I can do to stop her. When she wants something, she gets it… so you had better give it to her~”

“Give what to her, Ma’am?”

“Everything.” She tightened her grip on my hair, pressing my lips against her cock. “She is my wife, and I love her to the moon and back, so you had better give her everything you have.” 

“And I will, Ma’am.” I licked my lips one last time, gently running my tongue over the head of her member as I did so, before placing a kiss right there on her tip. “I promise.” 

“Good girl.” She pulled my face right up against her waiting genitals. “Open wide~” 

“Yes, Miss Josephine.” I placed my palms face down on the ground, not clenched into fists for protection, but definitely not too vulnerable either. I could be hiding anything in my hands while they lied palm down, and I was going to keep my secrets close to my chest. I parted my lips and opened my mouth wide, letting myself go vulnerable and limp as she pulled, the length of her cock sliding right through my mouth and in towards my throat. 

“Good girl, just like that.” 

This was humiliating ego-shattering debasement. I could resist, Josephine was so easy to resist, I had seen that much already. She wasn’t Claudia, she wasn’t my master, she couldn’t be as forceful and dominant as her wife was. Josie was not a woman who could earn my submission naturally, her betrothed had done that for her. 

A sex toy, not a partner or another wife, a sex toy- that’s what I was. Claudia didn’t see me as a person, but in this moment her wife might just have been seeing me as something even worse. She didn’t even see me as someone whose submission she needed to earn, and she hadn’t earned it, it was just being given to her for free. She saw me as someone whose submission should be free to her, which wasn’t who I was deep down, she saw me as a sex toy to play with. Something to bang, something to fuck. 

Claudia saw me as her maid, Josie saw me as a sex slave. 

My inaction was the hardest thing I had done since I had gotten here, I had never struggled so hard to not do anything. I knelt there at her feet, mouth agape as I felt her member sliding in and out of my mouth, or rather- my head sliding up and down on her cock. 

Even Candace didn’t do this with me, we played together during sex, we competed. I was either trying to outdo her with my oral skills, or she was conquering me by slamming her cock down my throat. But there wasn’t even so much as mindgames here, just shameful unearned submission as I atoned for my previous mistakes, letting Josie mouthfuck me without either of us putting up a fight. 

It was a slow build too, terribly painfully slow. She wanted to take her time and have fun, and that meant more time spent being limp and feeling pathetic, breathing in and out through my nose as she used my mouth. 

But it was kind of nice too, it was peaceful. I didn’t have to think, there were no moves to make, no reason to strategize, there was no fighting back.

All there was to do was lose. Lose my dignity, lose my pride, lose control, lose myself. All that was left for me was a lifetime of losing. 

That was why I had failed Candace. Not because I couldn’t follow all of her rules and guidelines, but because I had been scared of letting go, I didn’t want to lose who I was. I didn’t want to stop being Sophia Cavalier, so I ended up getting Chloe taken away from her. 

And I wasn’t about to let that happen again, not with Claudia. I had already failed her sister, I wasn’t going to fail her- no matter how much it hurt me. 

“Mmmph~!!!” I let out an exclamation through my stuffed lips, not a pained gasp, but a cute noise, slowly readjusting myself. 

This was new to me, being Chloe. I had to give up Sophia, but to do that, I first had to figure out who exactly Chloe was. Chloe wasn’t a girl who was going to sneak downstairs after this and tried to find a way to escape, that was something that Sophia would do, not Chloe. 

Even her name made her sound like a stupid bitch, _Chloe_ , maybe that’s who Chloe is, a stupid bitch. I could be that if I was who I needed to be, clearly being a smartass who fights back at every opportunity hasn’t been working for me anyways. 

What good is wandering about the house trying to formulate escape plans when nobody out there cared about me, Candace didn’t love me, or else she wouldn’t have let me go. 

If I wanted to get into Claudia’s office just to grab my stupid stuffed dog, I could just ask my masters to go get her for me. I could say that I miss her, and instead of sneaking around behind their backs gathering information, I could ask my master really nicely to have her back. 

That’s what I was going to do next, not sneaking into her office to steal Poppy back, asking Claudia if I could have her again. The ends were the same, but only one of these means could get Poppy to me without the risk of getting into trouble. 

_Less time thinking about who I could be if I escape from here, and more time thinking about who I am right here and now._

I picked my hands up off of the floor and placed them on top of Josie’s thighs, not to try and control her, but to help stabilize myself, letting her know I was leaning on her for support in this instant. Without her here in front of me right now, I would fall over. 

“Atta girl~” For just a few moments, Josephine’s grip on my hair loosened, softening as she gently rubbed the top of my head, almost rewarding me. No, not almost rewarding me, rewarding me. “Just like that, follow the movements.” 

She moved her chair back, wanting to get a good look at me down there. I stumbled forward, almost being knocked forward, but thanks to my hands there on her thighs, my lips never once even left her cock- thanks to me leaning on her for support.

_Just suck cock and look pretty… I can do that._

There was a moment where Josie did nothing, but rather than seizing control from her, I waited. I waited for her to grab me by the hair again and pull me forward to the base of her cock, continuing to suck her off at her preferred pace. 

It wasn’t fun, and I didn’t like it, but I didn’t choose to stop it from happening. 

“I know you chose to spit my cum out last time, but do you know what I think would be cuter than swallowing?” She glanced down at me, forcing a blush onto my cheeks as I looked up into her eyes for a moment, unable to answer thanks to my mouth being full of her cock. “I think you’d look cute if we made a mess all over your face with it~” 

“Mhmmm…” I blushed, staring down the length of her cock as she continued to bob my head up and down on her member. _A cum facial…_

“I didn’t hear a no, so I’m gonna take that as a yes~” 

I pinched my thighs together, dripping onto the cold steel of my chastity belt. It was like I was being trained to give pleasure without being given pleasure, but that didn’t make it any less heat inducing between my legs. If I could have my fingers shoved up my cunt right now, I would- but I couldn’t, and that was by design. 

“Almost there~” I whimpered desperately, my hands squeezing onto Josie’s thighs as she continued to bring herself closer to a climax in my mouth, using me as little more than a toy to accomplish that. 

Her cock got stiffer, throbbing in my mouth slightly, ready to pop inside of me. I wouldn’t stop her from coming into my mouth, but I knew she wanted to do otherwise. If she wanted to give me a cum facial, then I was gonna sit there and get a cum facial. 

And I did. A whimper of dread left my lips as she pulled her cock from my mouth, spraying a mouthful of semen straight into my face, rather than down my throat. It was warm, wet, sticky, and I loved it a lot. 

That was one of my three weaknesses- cock, hot women, and cum. I was getting all three of them in the same place, of course I loved it a lot, even if the humiliation of it was earth shattering. 

“Look at you~” She pet my hair, scratching the top of my head without a care in the world about getting her own cum on her hands. “You did it that time~!”

“Mmmmph…” I kept my eyes closed as I leaned towards her hand for head scratches, not wanting to get cum in my eyes. “Thank you, Miss…” 

“Let me help you there~” She sighed loudly, taking my hands off of her thighs and sitting me back, letting me balance myself as she sat down next to me, my hands still being controlled by hers. 

“Nngh-” I tried to pull my hands away from hers for just a moment before snapping my hands back into hers, not receiving enough resistance from her to be able to pull away without yanking myself free of her control.

So I let her guide my hands by the strings, feeling my own fingers running over my cheeks, getting warm and wet with the cum my master’s wife had doused by skin with. 

“Go on, eat up~” She pushed my fingers towards my mouth, slowly parting and pushing past my lips, delivering a finger full of salty semen onto my tongue. “Just because I didn’t put it in your mouth doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat it, right?” 

“I don’t know, Ma’am.” I sucked my finger clean of her cum, trying not to grind my teeth together. “Are you asking me if I want to?” 

“I’m saying that you probably _should_.”

“But are you making me, Miss?” 

“I-” Josie sighed, still unsure of herself in the face of me fighting back against her even just a little bit. “I suppose not~” 

“May I please use one of your makeup wipes, Miss?” I sighed, just a little bit too exasperated to slowly and agonizingly wipe my face clean with my hands if I didn’t need to, and Josie wasn’t pushy enough to make me. “Please?”

“Sure, let me grab you one~”

“Thank you.” I yanked my hand away from hers, deciding for myself that it was appropriate to regain control of my own actions rather than letting her continue to puppet me. I wasn’t a slave to her will, I was a real girl- and least when it came to Josie. I held my hand out and took the makeup wipe from her, adamantly wiping my face clean of her cum. “I hope you had fun, Ma’am.”

“You had me waiting all day to get done with your mental reevaluation.” She sighed, helping me clean my face, more than a little bit glad it was over. “Thanks for behaving this time, I’ve really been needing to get Claudia off of my back about this~”

“No problem, Miss… it’s what I’m here for~” 

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

“She’s not dead, is she???”

“No stupid… she’s just sleeping…”

“Come on, you two, give her some room.” 

_Oh no, not this again…_

I quickly sat up, finding myself in bed with not only Josephine, having apparently fallen asleep after laying down next to her to recuperate, but also with Darcey, Autumn, and Zenna all at the same time. 

“Good morning, sleepyhead~” Josie giggled at me, ruffling my hair again as I slowly lifted my head off of her thigh. “Or I should probably say good evening~”

“Did she like the cum facial, Miss Josie???”

“Yeah… she didn’t mess up again, right…?”

Darcey and Autumn were both instantly all over their master, returning to her as soon as I had woken up and they got their two cents worth in. 

“I bet she ate all of the cum afterwards!!!” 

“I bet she didn’t…” 

I scoffed, already too irritated with them both to keep listening to their silly bickering. “I didn’t!!”

“Awe man, really???”

“I told you so…” 

“Eugh.” I sighed, no less grumpy about being woken up as I was about the two of them being right in my face as soon as I woke up. I sighed, taking a deep breath, snapping my head to the side the instant I felt a hand on my shoulder. “ _What?_ ” 

I turned to face Zenna, who instantly cowered back in place as soon as I responded just a little bit too forcefully to her trying to get my attention. “I- Um… it’s nothing, I’m sorry.”

“Chloe.” I didn’t even have enough time to sigh at how pathetic she was before I heard her voice, my master’s voice. “Be gentle with Zenna. It took a lot of effort to turn her from a pig into a miserable kitten without having to literally defang her. She’s fragile.” 

I had slept long enough for Claudia to get home, and apparently quite a lot longer than that. I glanced around the room, Lilian having apparently been put to bed already. “Did I miss dinner, Ma’am?”

“Yes, but we didn’t want to wake you~” She smiled, turning away from the vanity as soon as she was dressed for bed, heading towards us- not to my side, but to Zenna’s. “Besides, you did enough cum guzzling to constitute a real dinner.”

Zenna purred happily, leaning into her master’s hand as Claudia pet her. “That’s not true Ma’am… Miss Josie gave her a cum facial instead~” 

“Oh did she now?” Claudia giggled. “I’m sure that was exciting… but in that case I suppose I’m going to have to feed her some real food instead~” 

“You told them?” I turned to Josie, my face full of dread. “Why did you tell them?”

“Duh, because Josie’s our master and she loves us~!!!”

“Miss Josie tells us everything…”

“She can’t keep a secret to save her life!!!”

“She really can’t…” 

“Girls!!” Josephine had to step in to interrupt them. “Mouths closed, paws up.” 

Both Darcey and Autumn looked like they wanted to protest, but they did as they were told, hushing up and holding their hands above their exposed tits. So that’s why they belonged to Josie, they were obedient pushovers who were both head over heels for her. 

But Zenna did it too, zipping her lips and holding her hands over her breasts, trying to make herself look cute for Claudia- and that made her master smile. 

That. Right there for just a moment, I saw something between them, a flash of something more than adoration towards a dog from Claudia. I saw her smile, put her hands on Zenna’s cheek, and pulled her in for a kiss on the lips, still smiling as she pulled away.

And right then and there I knew what I wanted, I wanted that. Claudia’s love. It didn’t matter if we never got married, because it was better than nothing. Getting Claudia to love me was better than not being loved at all. I wanted to make Claudia love me. 

“I and my slaves have left food for you downstairs in your room.” Claudia turned back to me without the same look of adoration she gave Zenna, at least not yet. “Go eat downstairs and have Nell remove your uniform for you~”

“Yes, Miss.” I smiled, bowing slightly for her, very happy to think that she was going to feed me after all. “And then what, Ma’am?”

“And then it’s bedtime.” She smirked, pulling away from Zenna and turning towards the dumbwaiter to send me downstairs. “The rest of the girls are sleeping up here tonight, so feel free to either stay downstairs or come back up and join us, I’ll leave the dumbwaiter unlocked.”

“Yes, Ma’am… whatever you say.” 

“Good girl, and before I forget.” She stopped just outside of the slave elevator, and I was at her side before I realized I was following her. “Good job behaving today. I’m proud to here that you got through it all without misbehaving~”

“It was nothing, Ma’am… really… I’ve spent so much of it sleeping.”

“Nevertheless. I am still glad to hear that your reevaluation went well, and I must offer my apologies for not being more present today.” She smiled, taking me by the hand and leading me into the dumbwaiter. “I won’t be able to escort you downstairs I’m afraid, so if this is goodnight, I’ll take my due respect here and now~” 

_Alright Chloe, it’s time to think like a stupid bitch from now on._

I sighed, giving her a great big smile as I curtsied, my hands at my sides as I bowed happily. “Thank you, Master. I hope to soon serve you like I served Miss Josephine today~” 

“That’s good to hear…” She smiled eagerly, licking her lips. “Tell you what, stay out of trouble for the next three days, and I’ll get you out of that chastity belt for next weekend.”

“And then you’ll permit me to serve you?”

“And then I’ll permit you to serve me~”

“Yes, Master… I won’t let you down.”

“Good girl, now go.” 

“Yes, Ma’am. Thank you~” 

So I went back downstairs and I ate my dinner, just like I was told, relieved to be able to do it all by myself. I didn’t return upstairs when I was done, either. A part of me wanted to join them up there, but I wasn’t quite confident I would fit in. 

But even worse, I still had this chastity belt on, and I wasn’t about to join them until I could enjoy myself doing so. I wasn’t quite fully adjusted to my new life, but I was getting there- and there was absolutely nothing that could stop me from getting this chastity belt off by the end of the week.

At least that’s what I thought~


	29. Bursting the Bubble

“Sister dearest…” 

Claudia smiled, her blue eyes lighting up as she pulled me in for a hug. It really was nice to see her again after so long. I squeezed her as tight as I could for a few moments before pulling away, letting her hold both of my hands in hers. 

“Come inside, please.” 

This is it, the last time you guys are going to hear from me for now, so let’s end things on something you’ve wanted to see for a while-

“Hey, Claudia.” 

Let’s end it on me and my sister. 

“It’s nice to see you again.”

“Oh please, I wouldn’t blame you if you chose to never see me again, that’s how poorly I treated you.” She frowned slightly, squeezing my hands with hers. “What brings you over here, anyways?” 

“A couple of little things here and there, I guess.” I sighed, squeezing back, a big smile on my face. “But mostly I just wanted to see you again.” 

“Well then consider it my pleasure to have you again.” She giggled just slightly, letting go of my hands and wrapping her arms around me for another hug. “I’ve missed you, Candace.” 

It was nice to see her again, after four years of being away, after four years of radio silence between each other. It was just nice to see my big sister again, and I was so happy to see how much she’d changed. 

“I’ve missed you too, Claudia…” I pinched my eyes shut, just enjoying being able to embrace her for a few moments, just for the two of us, before pulling away from each other again. 

And then I felt her lips pressed against mine.

It only lasted for a split second, but so much happened in that little moment. Her lips felt nice pressed against mine, and it made me feel welcome here with her. It filled me with a warm tingling sensation from my head to my toes, almost numbing my lips. But at the same time, it filled me with dread, a strangely familiar misery that almost made me feel like I had been here before. 

She let go and I backed up, but instead of taking her by the hands again, the fingers that bore my painted nails found their way to my still tingling lips, sore from something that hadn’t quite happened but somehow felt like it did. 

I froze for a few moments before glancing back over at her, still waiting for me to come inside with her. She stood there, looking me up and down, trying to see what was wrong. Something had always been off about her, but kissing on the lips was new for Claudia, and it was as strange of a welcome as I had expected from her when I woke up and made my way over this morning. 

“Is something the matter?” She smiled, making room for me to step inside and close the door behind me. 

“I’m just not used to it, I suppose.” The foyer into Claudia’s home was as decadent as I imagined it, and as we stepped through it and into the rest of the house, I was in awe- not just of how symmetrical the whole home was, but also at how extravagantly decorated the entirety of it was. “Whoa.”

“Impressive, right?”

“Your house is really pretty.” 

“I’m flattered~”

“Is that father?” I stepped inside of the massive ballroom, turning to the right wall to see a portrait of him hanging over the huge fireplace, a painting of my father. “That’s huge.”

“Well, he is really important to me after all, just like my mother~” She pointed her cane over at the opposite wall, indicating towards a painting over her mother hanging above the fireplace on the other side. 

“Lilith.” There she was, Claudia and Cyrus’ mother, Lilith Mariam- the woman from whom Claudia derived her last name. Even in her age she was a beautiful woman, and the portrait depicting her as a more youthful adult helped to illuminate that, with her blue eyes and her light brown hair, slowly greying. “It looks gorgeous.”

“I would hope so, they are priceless and one of a kind after all.” I could hear the tapping of her cane on the floor as she made her way over to me, gently setting one hand on my shoulder. “I haven’t forgotten about you all of these years either, I promise.” 

She turned me towards another paying, gently trying to escort me to it, trying to show it to me. It was strange to see something like this in Claudia’s house of all people, not even I had a portrait of me in my house, and I certainly don’t remember being there when this painting had been made of me. “That’s… me, why do you have a portrait of me in your house?”

“Because your my little sister of course, I have one of Cyrus as well, just over there~”

“But **how** do you have a portrait of me in your house?” I chuckled, not at all upset to see it, if anything I was flattered that she thought of me enough to include me in her collection of family paintings, I just didn’t understand how she had gotten one made of me. “Who made that for you?”

She sighed, mumbling to herself under her breath. “You have to promise you won’t laugh or get upset.”

“I promise.” I chuckled, rolling my eyes at her. “I’m just impressed.” 

“I’ve got a bunch of those magazines you modeled for in my office.” She blushed as she spoke, embarrassed to be admitting to it. “I brought a bunch of your photos to a family artist, and they found one to do a rendition of you off of~”

“That’s so cool that they’d do that.” I smiled at the thought of it, my cheeks also flushed with embarrassment at the knowledge that my older sister had seen so many pictures of me practically nude. “It’s just a little weird for you to have so much porn of me.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” She balanced herself on her cane, trying to remain steady. “I knew you launched into a brand new career shortly after Josie and I’s wedding, and I just thought you wouldn’t want to be bothered by your older sister, who’s frankly kind of been an asshole to you.” 

“Well I’m here now, and… I’d like you to stay in my life this time, I appreciate that you’ve been thinking about me.” I sighed, my face only slightly flustered as I lowered my gaze to admire the cane she was holding. “I remember the wedding, but… Josie? Who’s Josie?”

“Right, well I did say there’s something we’ve been dying to tell you in person, but I no longer have a husband.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t realize you’d gotten divorced.” 

“We didn’t get divorced actually, we’re still madly in love with each other, I just figured it’d be a pleasant surprise for you to find out in person rather than on the phone.” She had the biggest happiest smile on her face as she lovingly gazed over at the wall over the entrance to the dining room, towards a set of three family portraits. “Take a look~”

I stared up at it, admiring the paintings of the three girls. On the right was my eldest sister, Claudia. In the middle was a portrait of her daughter, my niece, Lilian- lovingly named after her grandmother Lilith. But to the left, opposite Claudia’s portrait was one of a woman that I didn’t recognize, someone that I couldn’t quite be sure that I had seen before. 

Someone who, amazingly, looked a whole lot like Chloe.

“She’s so pretty… who is that?” 

“That beauty right there, that’s Josephine~”

“Josie… who is she?”

“Well… as you can probably tell, I’ve gone through a bit of a transformation-” She swallowed nervously, standing up as straight as she could directly in front of me, blocking out the light above as she stood at her whole six and half feet of height. “I used to bully and berate and call you names as a kid, just for being who you are, and that was wrong of me to do… I’m sorry.”

“I… Claudia… it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not, and I want to apologize for being like that to you.” I stared up at her nervously before shifting my gaze to the floor below, my eyes following her as she gently lowered herself to the ground, onto one knee as she tried to not aggravate her still injured hip. “I was a terrible sister for not supporting you through everything you were going through, I was supposed to be there to help and protect you, but instead I just called you names like faggot or twink or queer, and I deeply regret that.” 

“I’m not here to patch up your ego, sis…” I sighed, biting my lip in frustration as I quietly fumed, not trying to get angry at her. “I’m not going to just forgive you because you regret something, that’s not how this works, Claudia.”

“I know it’s not, but apologizing is the first step, and the second step is to actually be better.” She smiled, still down on her knees as she apologized. “Which is why I’m actually going to be here for you from now on… not just to support you in this, but also to help be there to guide you. I know you miss your mother.”

“Yes. I miss my mother quite a lot… thank you.” 

“Right, we’ll get to that…” I saw Claudia briefly glancing over at the portrait of her own mother, almost mumbling to herself before continuing. “My change in attitude didn’t come from nowhere unfortunately, and well… I suppose it’s your turn to call me mean homophobic slurs if you’d like.”

“I would never do that, Claudia. I still don’t understand what you’re talking about.” I smiled, turning back to the other portrait on the wall over there. “Just tell me, I’m here for you too, what’s going on?”

“My husband is no longer my husband, and it’s opened my eyes to a lot of things in life that I didn’t understand or accept about myself.” She slowly and very carefully stood up, with just a little help from me getting to my feet. “That’s Josephine, the same person I married four years ago, the last time we met, finally able to be herself for the first time~” 

I looked back up at the beautiful redhead in the portrait, my eyes going wide with recognition as I realized who she was. “Your wife came out as a woman~” 

“And **I** came out as gay, like I should have done when I was your age… or even long before that.” She smiled, her cheeks bright pink as she spoke about her loving wife. “I wish she was here to tell you in person, she’s out with Lilian and the nanny right now.” 

“The nanny?” I smiled at her, still slowly composing my thoughts in my head as the conversation continued. Though it was hard to think of that word without my mind drifting to my mother, who had started out as my sister’s nanny. “You have a nanny?”

“One of our servants~” 

“Oh… what’s she like?” I smiled, pleasant memories in my head of my mother as I thought about her. “How’s Lilian been?” 

“Lilian’s grown up really fast… and no, nothing bad has happened to her yet.”

“I’m glad… not like us growing up, huh?”

“Not at all.” She grinned, proud of her daughter and proud of her family, but also more than a little bit proud of herself. “Right, should we sit down and catch up?” 

“Yes. We really really should~” 

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“But enough about me, tell me about yourself, Candace. How have you been? What’s been happening?"

We sat down in the sitting room attached to the hallway for a while, chatting between each other to try and catch up. It was nice getting to talk to her again, it made it feel like we were actually sisters. 

“Well, what do you want to hear?” 

“Everything, Candace~!!” She giggled at me, pressing me for information about what’s been going on in my life. “I spilled all of my details, now it’s your turn to spread those tight little lips of yours~” 

“Okay okay, fine.” I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at the obvious innuendo. “There’s been a lot happening, especially surrounding the Esports scene right now.” 

“Do go on.” 

“I don’t suppose you’ve been keeping up with my professional life at all?”

“I have, actually… not a ton, but I’ve checked in here and there~”

“Well, it’s super complicated, and you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

“My little lips are tight as can be, count on it.”

I groaned, shaking my head in disbelief at how silly she was being. “I went to the Starcraft world championship finals last year… and I placed second.” 

“And then you lost to that Sophia girl, right?” 

“I did… and then about six months later, Sophia committed suicide.” I blushed, licking my dry lips to keep them from sticking together as I told this story, will still kind of hurt me to admit to. My heart still fluttered at the idea of Chloe and how much I missed her. “Except she didn’t really commit suicide.”

“You had her killed, right?”

“No, actually.” I was still kind of proud of the next bit, no matter how bittersweet it was to me now. “I had her kidnapped and brought down here to become my slave, and I turned her into my maid, like my mother was…”

“I knew it.” She smiled warmly, just a little bit excited for me. “And how’s that going?”

I swallowed nervously, trying to remain calm and keep a relatively normal face as I shook my head at her, not wanting to think about what was happening to Chloe right now. If I had to go over what actually happened between the two of us and what had become of her, I would probably break, inside and out. “She’s in a better place now~”

I didn’t just have the necklace Chloe had meant to give to me around my neck, I had taken that little golden bell of hers and strung it onto a necklace, adorning it as well. I clutched the little zerg symbol she had crafted for me in my hand, letting the spines of the little heart dig into my skin as I clutched onto it, letting it wash away my emotional anguish with physical pain. 

“That’s horribly dreadful, I’m sorry.” She frowned, placing a hand on my shoulder to help console me. “Putting down the first one is always the hardest.” 

I blushed, looking up at her. “The first?” 

“The first slave, of course.” She just held her hand there, letting me know that she was here for me. “We had to put Bella down just earlier this year, it shook us all.” 

“Bella?” I gave her a soft but confused look, tilting my head ever so slightly. “You have slaves?” 

“Lots of them in fact.” She giggled, pursing her lips and cooing, eager to show them to me. “I did mention we had gotten a few **pets** ~”

“Like that nanny of yours?” 

“Exactly like that nanny of ours, yes~” She picked up her cane, slowly bringing it to her lips and resting it there. “Would you like to play with one?” 

I giggled, licking my lips hungrily. “Of course I would.” 

“Blonde, brunette, or redhead?” 

“Red- umm…” I started, and then stopped myself. Chloe had been a redhead, I had a little bit of a thing for redheads, but clearly so did my sister. Seeing Josephine’s picture on the wall already reminded me too much of Chloe, and seeing another redhead like her so soon was probably going to hurt me a lot more than it excited me. “Blonde, let’s go with blonde~” 

“Excellent choice.” She twirled it in her hand just once before catching it and pressing a button. “Oh Darcey, would you please come down to the sitting room~?”

There were a few moments of silence before a set of quick footsteps approaching us could be heard from down the hall. 

“Coming!!!” She quickly stepped inside of the sitting room with us, and heavens was she a sight to behold. “Is there something I can help you with, Ma’am… oh!!! Hello there, I’m Darcey~!!!”

What a marvellous creature she was, especially in that beautiful bizarre uniform of hers, her most sensitive and vulnerable parts on display for all to see. 

I was in awe, I knew my sister had proudly embraced her lifelong partner as a woman, but I hadn’t really expected her to have slaves. I was anticipating servants filling her house so that she and her family didn’t have to, but I had anticipated an array of paid workers, male and female, to do that sort of thing for her. I hadn’t ruled slaves out of the question, but I definitely didn’t expect something quite like this. 

**Thump**. I turned to see my sister, following the sound of her cane being tapped on the floor, and I almost expected her to introduce me. But instead it seemed like she wasn’t quite happy with Darcey’s introduction. “Now Darcey, you can do better than that.” 

So much was happening so fast that it was actually kind of hard to keep up. The sound of my sister’s cane had been enough to grab my attention, but it seemed to do a lot more than just that to Darcey. 

I had seen this kind of thing before, it appeared that Darcey was trained to respond to the thump of Claudia’s cane, it carried a weight with it that shook her when she heard it. 

“Yes, Ma’am, I can do much better than that. My apologies for the improper introduction, Madame St. Clair.” Darcey smiled, bending herself forward to bow for me. “I’m Darcey Peyton, or #0003 if you would rather refer to me by my number. Whichever you would prefer, I assure you that it is my pleasure to be the one to meet you today. I’m always honored to meet and potentially serve a new superior.” 

I couldn’t help but giggle at her, at least her masters had trained her well, on the drop of a dime she had gone from bubbly bimbo to prim and proper servant. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Darcey. You can relax, I promise.” 

“Thank you, Madame~” She relaxed and straightened her posture, but only because she was told to. “I promise to remain humble and servile while in your presence.” 

“I’m happy to hear that, thank you.” 

“Darcey here is one of my wife’s slaves, but as you can see she is fully trained to respond to us both.” Claudia was very pleased by her slave’s performance this second time around. “We won’t bore you with personal details about her, you’re not all that important are you Darcey?”

“Heavens no, Ma’am. I wouldn’t call myself important. I’m only as valued as my masters make me.” 

“I wasn’t quite expecting this when I came over.” I smiled, glancing back towards my sister. “Are you going to introduce me, or should I do that myself?” 

“There’s very little need, actually.” Claudia smiled, nodding towards Darcey. “Isn’t that right?” 

“You’re Miss Claudia’s sister, Candace St. Clair.” Darcey smiled, her gaze now fixed to the bottom of Claudia’s cane. “Our masters have told us a lot about you, we’ve been eager to meet you for some time now.” 

“I didn’t think I was that famous.” It made me smile to hear that Claudia had told them all about me already. “Have you really missed me that long, sis?”

“I have, yes… Though I had planned on it taking some more time before we got back together.” Claudia frowned, also staring down at her cane like Darcey was. “But things have recently come up that forced the timeframe forward.” 

“And that would be?” 

“Something I wouldn’t want to sour the mood with quite yet, you did say you wanted to play with Darcey- do be careful though, her mouth can be a little pointy~” 

“Right.” I smiled, turning back towards the slave and beckoning her towards me. “Come here?” 

I wasn’t sure if I was asking for her to approach or ordering her to do so, but she did it regardless, finding herself standing up right in front of me. 

“Do they all dress like this, Claudia?” I grabbed the hem of her frilly translucent skirt, lifting it up so that I could admire her perfectly clean shaven cunt. “Sensitive parts exposed and everything?” 

“They all have slight variations on the same uniform, yes. The other girls wear a pair of fishnet gloves that Darcey here doesn’t have.” Claudia giggled, glancing over at the two of us. “And our newest slave is locked away in chastity right now.” 

“Evil.” I grinned at her. “I like it~”

“Yes, well…” She grinned back, keeping her eyes on me rather than on the slave. “I did promise her that she’d be getting out of it tonight, for good behavior this week.” 

“She’s relatively new, I take it?” 

“She is indeed, only since Bella has been gone have we even thought about getting another.” 

“How many do you have?”

“Four in total.” 

“That a lot.” I smiled, letting go of Darcey’s skirt and waving her off. I wasn’t really here to play with my sister’s slaves. I was here to see my sister. “I couldn’t even handle one.”

“Well let’s just chalk it up to me being a little bit more experienced, trust me- I’ve lost my fair share of them before, and I have my wife here to help with them.” 

“I’d love to see the rest of the house while we’re waiting.”

“And I’d love to show it to you~”

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“It’s gorgeous.” My sister began to give me a tour of the house, showing me to the conservatory upstairs. “Your house is gorgeous.” 

“Why thank you…” She smiled, blushing as she looked at me. “You’ll have to show me your house sometime?” 

“Maybe eventually, I’ve been going through some life changes.” I stepped towards the window, admiring the view. “I’m not participating in the world championship this year, other things have been going on.” 

“There goes my reason to watch it this year.” She chuckled, following quickly behind me. “I missed it last year after all.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say there’s no reason at all to watch this year.” I smiled, still a little bit embarrassed that I wasn’t going to be playing. “I’m going to be hosting the event this year instead.”

“That’s wonderful news!!” She smiled, standing directly next to me. “I’ll make sure to tune in and watch if you’d like?”

“I would love you to, yeah~”

I felt my sister wrap her arm around me to try and comfort me, but rather than placing her hand on my shoulder, she held me by my waist. She pulled me in close, prompting me to rest my head against her shoulder while we stood there. 

“And I know you’ve said you wouldn’t like to attend, but I would love for you to be at this party next month.” She frowned, holding me close by the waist as she spoke, her chest heavy with something. “Have you spoken to my mother yet?”

“No, not yet. But father told me that the party was for Lilith, and not for you.”

“Did Daddy tell you what else was going on with her?”

“No… Daddy doesn’t really like talking about her all that much. Why, what’s going on?” 

“I think I would rather let her tell you, she’ll be here tonight, and I would like to wait until then-”

Claudia’s thoughts trailed off, interrupted by the sound of the conservatory door opening behind us. I turned around to see who it was out of instinct, but only very briefly managed to escape Claudia’s embrace as she promptly put both hands on my waist, holding me from behind- almost as a way to try and support herself rather than me. 

“Miss Claudia…” It was another slave. “Lunch is ready and Miss Josie’s still not home…”

The girl’s almost robotic emerald eyes looked up, going wide-eyed as she saw me. It was clear from her obvious telegraphing that she recognized who I am and was very quickly shifting into giving me a proper greeting, it just needed a second to load and buffer. 

“Madame St. Clair. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Claudia didn’t warn me that you were coming, or I would have made you lunch as well.” She smiled, bowing for me just like the other slave had. “Autumn Turner. #0004. Cook, slave, the household’s loyal and proud possession. My condolences for not having any tribute prepared to pay you, I’m honored to finally meet you in the flesh.” 

Claudia didn’t just have slaves, she had loyal and obedient ones. She was apparently quite good at erasing whatever personality they did have and turning them into a mindless drone in an instant. 

“That’s enough of you, Autumn.” Claudia was almost annoyed by the fact that she was here. “As you can see, I would like to have some time alone with my sister~”

“Of course, Master.” She went from bowing to on her knees. “My apologies, should I bring your lunch to you up here?”

“Yes, and bring Josephine’s to us as well, I’ll have Candace eat it instead~”

“Yes, Ma’am. As you wish…” 

Autumn jumped to her feet, and within an instant she was gone, leaving Claudia and I alone in the conservatory once again. 

“Well that was kind of rude, don’t you think?” I began to turn back to my sister behind me, a little bit annoyed at how she treated the girl, but before I could she just tightened her grip on my waist, holding me still in front of her. 

“I know, she really should know best to knock by now.” 

“That’s not what I meant, Claudia.” I forcefully pulled myself away from her, taking a few steps forward before turning around to face her. “I meant how you just brushed her off like that.” 

“And what exactly was wrong with that?” 

I paused for a moment, starting to say something before stopping myself. I couldn’t really get on her back for that, it was just the one thing, and I hadn’t seen how she normally treated the girl. I just knew that if anyone treated my Chloe like that, I wouldn’t be very happy with them. 

Of course Chloe wasn’t really mine anymore… not after what happened between us. Chloe made the conscious decision to leave me, because **I** used to treat her like that. When I had been her master, I never treated her as well as I should have- and that was a mistake. 

“Nothing, sorry…” I frowned, staring down at my feet in shame as I thought about her. “I’m just projecting I think.” 

I looked up at her, seeing her extending her arms towards me, and I quickly felt myself falling into her for a hug, squeezing her as tight as I could. 

“It’s alright.” She held me there, gently placing her hand on the back of my head as she held me to her chest. “I’ve missed you a lot, Candace…” 

Normally I would have a problem with this kind of physical attention, but Claudia was a lot taller and stronger than me, and it was nice to be this close with her for the first time. She was my sister after all, and I didn’t get a lot of physical closeness from either my brother or my father, so this was a welcome change of pace. 

“I’ve missed you too. Thanks for having me over~”

“Don’t mention it, honey.” Claudia squeezed me for a moment before letting go entirely, turning toward the rest of the room to answer a knock at the door. “Let’s have some lunch, alright?” 

“Sounds good to me~”

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“Tragedy?” My sister giggled, more than a little bit amused by my answer to her question. “Your favorite type of film is tragedy?” 

“Well not films _specifically_.” I pouted, a little bit red in the face that my answer had apparently been stupid. “I said my favorite type of story is tragedy, you know like the greek tragedy classics?”

“I didn’t peg you as a fan of the classics, little sis.” She giggled, pointing at me with her fork rather than a cane, laptop out beside her as she had to look up what I was even talking about. “What even is a greek tragedy anyways?”

I sighed, always having to explain what they are when I bring them up with anyone. “It’s a story where the protagonist eventually succumbs to a disaster of their own making, wrought upon them as a result of their own fatal flaw as a character.”

“Like what, exactly?” Now she was searching for examples. “Have I read any of them without knowing?” 

“Antigone? Oedipus Rex? The Iliad? …The Odyssey?” I sighed, listing off the most basic examples to my sister in an attempt to get her to recognize at least one of them. “Or if you’d like a real life example, we could talk about Aria Fairmont.” 

“Aria Fairmont?” That piqued her interest. “What about her?” 

“Well, she was **going** to be my date to the party, but we kind of had a falling out.” I sighed, grinding my teeth together. “And now I don’t think I’ll be attending after all.”

“We can get back to that later for sure, but first I have to ask- what kind of tragedy befell that mouse friend of yours?” 

“She was greedy and selfish.” I tapped my fingernail against the surface of the now empty glass in my hand, reduced to just chewing on ice cubes. “Her greed for money led her towards doing photoshoots with me… which led to her getting arrested by the FBI, and becoming a spy, which then led to her stealing from you, which led to the FBI dropping her… which led to her eventually turning to the family for protection, before falling in love with me-”

“And the tragedy?”

“Her selfishness led her to fall in love with me, selfishly trying to claim me for herself- which led to me not only losing my former slave, but also resulted in all of Aria’s secrets coming out.” I sighed, chewing the last of the ice cubes to pieces in my mouth. “Which led her-” 

“To the facility.” Claudia interrupted, a great big smile on her face as she thought about it, her eyes glued to her laptop as she cackled. “She’s at the facility.”

“She is?” I swallowed nervously, more than a little bit terrified for my former friend’s safety. “How do you know?”

“Because she’s right here in the registry… a new arrival.” She stared intently, fixing her attention on something that wasn’t me for the first time since I’d gotten here. “Doesn’t even have a number yet~”

I swallowed nervously, glancing over at the screen curiously. I didn’t have free access into the registry like either of my siblings had, neither my father or _their_ mother had given it to me, and I had my suspicions as to why- my mother had been a slave, and it just didn’t feel right for me to be able to see her profile, or have access to any profile in the registry at all. I was still an oddity to the system. 

“I’m not… in there, am I?”

“If you are, I can’t spot you.” She turned the laptop towards me. “Want to take a look?” 

I sat there, trying not to stare at it from across the room. I wanted to look at it, I really did- but I was worried about what I would see. Chloe was in there, and I knew the only reason I really wanted to see it was because I wanted to know who she belonged to. It had only been a few days, so I still remembered what Anthony told me- that the answer was going to hurt me more than it would help me.

“No, actually.” I stood up, empty glass in hand as I began towards the door. “I think I’m going to go get a refill, if that’s okay?”

“There’s no need to get up, I can send for one of the slaves-” 

“It’s okay, I really just want to get up and stretch, maybe have a moment alone with Autumn, she seemed cute~”

“Well alright.” She smiled, holding her empty dishes towards me. “If you’re going to do slave work like your mother, at least take all of the dishes to the kitchen with you.” 

“Oh, so you’re ordering me around now?” 

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it, Candace.” She winked at me, letting me take the dishes from her hand. “I’ll meet you in the sitting room when I’m done in here, okay?”

“Sure.” I sighed, smiling at her before turning away and rolling my eyes. “See you downstairs.” 

I headed out of the conservatory and turned downstairs. The reason I wanted to get out of there was to avoid looking at the slave registry before I was too tempted to check up on Chloe. I very badly wanted to make sure she was safe, but she was no longer my problem. I no longer had the right to know what was going on with her, no matter how much I wanted to. 

I turned into the dining room, heading towards the kitchen to put the dishes away. I didn’t actually plan on getting a refill, but now that I was here I might as well do so. Strangely enough, the kitchen was empty as I stepped inside to put the dishes away, Autumn was nowhere in sight. 

_There goes my excuse to kill time._

I sighed, retrieving myself a drink. I had a **thing** about drinks, always needing a refill, I had to have a drink on hand. I was a transgender woman after all, I was on hormone therapy, and one unfortunate side effect of my hormone pills were that I needed to drink a lot of liquids to keep myself healthy- as well as needing to use the restroom a lot. They didn’t have iced tea exactly, but they did have tea, and I liked tea. So I brewed myself a mug of tea, even if I normally preferred cool drinks over hot drinks.

So maybe my visit with my sister was going **a lot weirder** than I expected it to go. Claudia was being unreasonably friendly with me for someone who hated me with a passion just a few years ago, and hadn’t spoken to since. 

I appreciated it, I appreciated it a lot. The closest things I had to a mother figure for these last four years had been Tallulah- my manager and occasional sexual partner, Leah- my bodyguard, and Lilith- who wasn’t even **my** mother, she was Claudia and Cyrus’ mother, but still she was the closest thing I had. 

Claudia reminded me of my mother somewhat, possibly because she was just about the same age as Mommy had been when she died. The only way I could explain away the physical attention my older sister had been given me was by remembering how protective she probably wanted to be with me now that we were back on speaking terms. She didn’t want to lose me again.

But I was still a little bit nervous around her. I was glad to see how much she had changed for the better, but I still didn’t trust her, not after our childhood together.

I was more than willing to be friendly and go along with her and all of her plans for the sake of fixing our sisterhood, don’t get me wrong, but something was off- and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. 

I took the bag out of the fresh drink, glass of tea in hand as I made my way back out into the dining room. It was still a little bit too hot to drink, but I could sip it if I was careful, so I did. 

I heard footsteps approaching from the dining room in front of me, closing my eyes and being as careful as I could while taking a drink from the glass to make sure it didn’t spill. 

“Good afternoon, Madame St. Clair…”

I swallowed, making sure not to burn myself before responding in kind. It was another one of Claudia’s slaves no doubt, but her voice did sound quite familiar. 

“Good after-” I froze, suddenly petrified as I locked eyes with her, overtaken with feelings of excitement, dread, and relief all at once. 

Our eyes remained locked, and at first I was sure I was staring at my sister-in-law, Josephine, trying to explain away what I was seeing in those gorgeous hazel eyes of her as she smiled at me, her stupid pink cheeks as pretty as ever, painted over by her blush. 

My thoughts spilled out of my head, through my lips before I could stop them. But the sounds of my voice sounding out the syllables of her name were drowned out by the sound of glass shattering on the floor. 

I dropped the mug, not on accident but on purpose, needing use of both of my hands. I clasped them over my mouth, trying to strangle back any other sounds before I could say them. 

I was in shock, my whole body tingling and shaking, my eyes wet with tears as I bit back my tongue, hands still pressed to my lips. 

_Chloe._

I quickly stepped backwards, barely avoiding the quickly growing pool of hot liquid on the ground as it spread towards me, giving her just enough room to step in and address the spill. 

“My apologies, Miss… this is my fault, I’ll clean this up right away for us.” 

She seemed to be reacting much differently, almost instantly on her knees in front of me in an attempt to save face, trying to clean up without even so much as a towel to wipe the liquid up off of the floor, slowly gathering glass shards into her hand like she always did. 

“Careful where you step, Ma’am. They’re scalding hot and really sharp.” 

“Then don’t pick them up, you moron!!” It wasn’t my place, but before I knew it I was shouting at her, just trying to keep her from burning her hands because of me. “Drop them before you hurt yourself!!” 

The dining room was filled with nothing but silence and the clicking and clattering sounds of her doing just that, dropping the shards of glass back onto the floor as she was told. Her mouth was shut tight as she reeled from the heat of burning her hands, relieved to let go of them. 

“Chloe, I-” There was so much I wanted to say to her in that moment, I didn’t mean to yell at her, I just wanted to make sure she was being safe and not getting hurt. But I just as quickly found myself clasping my hands over my mouth again before I could apologize, stepping around her and walking away as fast as I could, making a beeline for the nearest restroom. 

_No. No no no no no no no no no._

I slammed the bathroom door shut as hard as I could, finding myself in the one nearest to the sitting room, struggling to catch my breath. 

_This isn’t real. This can’t be happening. This is a dream. This is a dream. This is a dream._

The stress, and the anxiety, and the trauma of the moment all got to me at the same time, and I quickly found my throwing up in the sink. It was almost like I had just watched someone die, but I hadn’t- I’d just seen a ghost.

_Chloe…_

There was a patient knock on the door, and then another shortly thereafter as I waited to know who it was before answering. “Sister dear, are you alright?”

“I’m fine!!” I shouted back at her, it was Claudia. But I wasn’t fine, not at all. “I’ll be out in a minute!!” 

There was no way my eyes had been wrong, that was Chloe. Chloe was here with my sister, living in her home and working for her. Chloe belonged to my sister now. 

Now I understood how Aria was so quick to get sick to her stomach, because it was happening to me now, making an even bigger scene in the bathroom than I already had. 

“I said I’m going to be a minute!!” There was another knock on the door, just trying to check up on me, but I wasn’t having it. I shouted back at her, trying to get her to leave me alone. “Leave me alone!!” 

“I…” The response I got this time was not my sister’s voice. “I’m sorry… I’ll let you be…”

 _No…_ I wiped my face clean with a handful of water from the sink, quickly trying to turn around and get to the door before she left. _Please don’t leave me…_

I dropped to my knees right in front of the door, unsure of where my courage to face her had gone. I pressed my forehead to the wooden door, unable to open it. 

“I’m sorry…” I placed my hand to the door as well, feeling my tears welling up in my eyes. “I’m so sorry…” 

I mumbled to myself, unsure if she could even hear me, convinced that she didn’t **want** to hear my voice. I held the necklace she had made for me in my hand, just for a moment, the spines digging into my hands as I squeezed onto it. 

**Thump**. The next thing I heard was the sound of Claudia on the other side of the door, tapping her cane on the ground. 

“Candace, dear… why don’t you come into the sitting room and rest…” She gently tapped on the door with her cane. “I’ll have the slaves clean up, we’ll get you some water, and you can just relax.” 

“Just a minute… but yeah…” 

I paused, moving from holding the necklace in my hand to holding the bell instead. 

_Good going, asshole… you really haven’t changed. You really are just the same horrible monster you’ve always been… You deserve everything that’s coming to you, and you know it…_

I bit my lip, letting out a couple of sobs as I gently removed the bell from my neck. 

_You don’t deserve to wear this… and you never will…_

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

“Is there something you would like to say to my sister, dear?” I was waiting in the sitting room as Claudia returned, my former slave at her side, scolding her for a mistake that she didn’t really make. “I think she deserves an apology, don’t you?”

“Yes, Ma’am… she does deserve an apology.” She took a deep breath, before stepping towards me and bowing, just like her fellow slaves had done earlier. “I would like to deeply apologize for causing you such inconvenience, Ma’am. I’m sorry for surprising you like I did. If there’s anything I can do for you, please… let me know.” 

“I’m fine.” I sighed, not wanting her to do any more work at all. “Are you alright? You didn’t burn your hands, did you?” 

“If I did, it’s my own fault… and I’m ready to face the consequences of such a thing.”

“I don’t want to hear any more apologies, okay?” I scoffed, averting my eyes from her as I tried to avoid causing her any more pain than I already had. “It was my fault, not yours.”

“Sister, dear. Just let her apologize-”

“I don’t want her to apologize, because it wasn’t her fault, Claudia.” I glared up at her, my eyes dead and cold. “Let her off the hook, okay?”

“Is… something the matter, Candace?”

“No” I shook my head. “I just don’t want **another** slave getting in trouble for just trying to do her job. She’s hurt. That’s punishment enough.”

“Well, alright…” She smiled at me, chuckling as she turned back to Chloe beside her. “Hear that… it looks like you might still be getting that chastity belt off tonight, after all~” 

Hearing that from my sister sure did make Chloe smile. “Do you mean that, Ma’am?” 

“Of course I do.” She patted her slave on the back, pointing her out of the sitting room. “Now go on, I think Candace needs a while, you’ll get to introduce yourself later.” 

“Yes, Ma’am… thank you.” 

Chloe turned towards the hallway, getting ready to leave, but not before she glanced over at me- the faintest of blushes and the tiniest of smiles painted onto her face as she walked away. 

I watched her walk away, seeing her leave this time hurting just a little bit less than it had last time. I propped my elbows up on my knees, hands against my face as I struggled not to cry. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened back there…” 

“It’s okay… I’ve got you.” I felt a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me like my mother once did, as my sister sat next to me on the sofa and wrapped her arm around me. “Is there anything I can do?” 

“No… not really…” I sighed, pulling my hands from my face and leaning towards her. “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry, kiddo.” She smiled, rubbing my shoulder to try and comfort me. “I have an idea, if you’d be up for it?” 

“I have no better plans… what’s your idea?”

“Well, I don’t know what’s gotten you sick all of a sudden, because I doubt it was the food… but taking a bath always makes me feel better when I’m all shaken up.”

I giggled, my cheeks blushing ever so slightly. “What, you’ll let me borrow your bathroom?”

“Actually…” She smiled, gently letting go of me. “I was thinking maybe we could bathe together?” 

“T-together?”

“You know… like sisters?” 

“Like sisters…” The thought made me smile, as well as blush with embarrassment. “You know I have a-”

“A penis?” She nudged me. “Yes… but that doesn’t make you any less of my sister.” 

I looked up at her, swallowing nervously. “You promise?”

“I promise.” 

“Okay…” I sighed, giving into the idea, even if it was a little bit weird, it sounded nice to take a bath with my sister- it meant that she actually saw me as her sister after all. “But just the two of us, no slaves.” 

“It’ll be just us, I promise.” 

So we went upstairs, finding ourselves together in Claudia’s master bathroom. Her bathtub was extraordinarily big, and it made the rest of the room feel all that much smaller as the two of us slowly undressed. 

“Well go on, take your clothes off~” Claudia was the opposite of shy, if anything she seemed eager to get her clothes off and get into the bathtub. 

I had expected her to leave her cane outside of the bathroom, but instead she decided to set in up in the bathroom, just outside of the shower. The eyes of the serpent that decorated the head of her cane now glowed red, pointing in towards the bathtub. “There, now I can’t lose it… the bathroom floors are usually slippery after a shower.”

“Are you sure we don’t want to wear bathing suits?” I, on the other hand, was a little bit more insecure about being naked in front of my sister. “This isn’t weird?”

“It’s only as weird as you let it be~” She giggled, winking at me as she showed herself off. “Come on… don’t make me strip you by hand.” 

I blushed, rolling my eyes as I hesitantly pulled my shirt and bra off in one swift motion. My sister was a very attractive woman, and because of that I had a little bit of difficulty keeping my eyes off of her. But Claudia didn’t seem to have the same difficulty, her eyes were glued to my body the whole time, blushing slightly as she watched the final pieces of clothing come off my body, leaving me standing completely naked in front of her. 

“See, that wasn’t so hard was it?” She giggled, gesturing towards the bathtub, almost waiting for me to enter first. “After you~”

I stepped inside and she followed shortly after me, closing the screen door to the bathtub behind us. It took a few moments to fill the bathtub, just due to its size, but once it was full it was actually really nice.

“Okay, you’re right… This is helping.” I sighed, leaning back against the wall and crossing my legs, trying to hide my genitals from my own view. “This is kind of nice~”

“I told you!!” Claudia was over the moon to have me in here with her. “You’re a very pretty woman, you know?”

“Thank you…” I smiled, my face turning even brighter red than they already were. “That means a lot to me.”

Claudia still wouldn’t take her eyes off of my body, no matter how much I crossed my arms or legs, or moved to try and get out of her view. At this point it was getting to be a little bit unnerving. I get that she hadn’t seen me in a while, but maybe this was a step too far. 

“Claudia… why are you staring at me like that?” 

“Because you’re very **very** pretty, Candace.” 

“I get that, but… you’re my sister.”

“I’m your sister and I like looking at you, what’s wrong with that?”

“I… I don’t know… It’s just not the way sisters usually look at each other.”

“How would you know that?” She smiled at me, standing up and turning one of the shower nozzles on so that she could wash off. “I don’t mind you looking at me like that~” 

“I can tell…”

“Here, I’m going to get washed off, okay?” She grabbed a small pink bar of soap from off of one of the nearby surfaces. “This’ll just take a minute.” 

I just kind of watched her wash off in the shower, she didn’t mind me looking at her, so I guess I didn’t really mind doing it. She was really pretty after all, I thought the bathtub was big, but my sister was huge. 

Claudia was six and a half feet tall, she was a monstrous woman who even towered above me, especially while I sat on the floor of the tub when she was standing. It was amazing to think that a cisgender woman could be that tall when I was a whole seven inches shorter than her. 

“Do I need to wash you?” 

I blushed, my normally pasty face bright pink as I looked up at her. “H-huh?”

“Would you like me to wash you?” She grinned mischievously, pointing the bar of soap at me from above. “You won’t have to lift a finger~” 

“Wh- Claudia?!” I blushed, covering my chest as she stepped towards me. “Why are you being so weird??”

“I don’t see how this is weird, I’m just offering to wash your body for you, mom and dad used to do that for us~”

“When we were children, sure.” I whined, slowly eyeing the screen door as I considered leaving. “But we’re not children anymore.” 

“Look, I get it.” Claudia smiled, slowly sitting down next to me in the bath, near a still flowing faucet of water. “But father did **other things** to us when we were children too.” 

“I **know** , Claudia.” I pushed away from her, standing up in the bath. “I don’t want to think about Daddy raping us!!” 

“Candace-” 

“I’ve had enough of this, Claudia.” I turned away from her, walking towards the screen door away from my sister, eager to get away from whatever sick perverted fantasy of hers this was. But when I got to the door and grabbed the handle, I quickly realized that it wasn’t going to open. It was locked. “Claudia…”

“Shhhhh…” She hushed, standing right behind me as she gently pulled me away from the door. “It’s only rape if you let it be non-consensual~” 

I had never quite felt so vulnerable in my entire adult life, trapped in here with my sister, entirely naked with no way out. “Claudia… I don’t want to do this…” 

“And why not?” She stayed behind me, reaching her hands around and brushing my hair out of the way, pulling it behind my shoulders. “Father did this with us, didn’t he?” 

“I don’t want to **be** like my father, Claudia.” I choked on my words, wincing at the feeling of her fingers against the skin of my back. “I don’t want to be anything like him…”

“And why not?”

“Because he’s an evil person who rapes and abuses women for fun-”

“And you aren’t?”

“I would like to not be!!” 

“Well… no one’s asking you to rape and abuse anyone right now.” She placed both hands on my hips, holding me still. “You can just leave that up to me.” 

“I… I don’t understand, Claudia.” 

“You’re not escaping this kid…” She smiled, gently placing a kiss on the back of my head. “I’ll be like your father… and you’ll just sit back and be like your mother instead~” 

“Like… my mother?” 

“Well… there’s nobody in the world who’s less like your father than your mother, is there?” 

“No…” I blushed, letting myself fall further into her grasp. “Not really…” 

“If you want to be less like your father, then you’ll just have to be more like your mother.” She smiled, breathing down the back of my neck. “There’s always room for you in the registry if you’d like to be there~” 

“Claudia…” I swallowed nervously, feeling her place her hands on my chest, squeezing me ever so gently. “Do I have to?” 

“Just relax… it’s going to be okay.” She grabbed me by my breasts, rubbing them with her palms. “Let me wash away those mommy and daddy issues for you~” 

“Y-yes, Ma’am…” I blushed as I turned around in her grasp, having retreated so far into myself for protection that I was having trouble fighting back. “Whatever you say…” 

“See, just like your mother~” 

This was the last thing I had expected, but I deserved everything I had coming for me, even if that meant getting raped in the bath by my older sister. She was right, after all. If I wanted to be less like my father, I needed to be more like my mother. Submissive. 

It felt like I had been building up to this revelation for quite some time. If I wanted to be a better person, someone who didn’t rape and kill random women off the street like my father, then the natural way forward was to become more like my mother. 

Calm, controlled, servile- even if I didn’t like it. I couldn’t control myself out there, I had already ruined the lives of three different women, and I didn’t want to do that again. If I couldn’t stop myself from hurting people, I needed someone else there to stop me.

I wasn’t submissive, but if I couldn’t control myself, I needed someone else to control me. 

“Mmph.” A quiet whimper escaped my lips as my sister pulled my hair, beginning to wash it for me. It felt wrong to be on my knees in the shower with her, but I had little choice. It’s what my mother would have done. 

“Stay still, Candace.” She grinned, sitting next to me as she washed my hair, almost like washing a pet. “I’m not afraid to pull hair from your head.” 

“I’m trying…” My face was bright red, not just out of embarrassment, but anger as well. “Please…” 

“Just quiet down, it’s gonna be alright.” She giggled, holding the bar of soap in front of my face, pressing it to my lips. “Open wide.” 

I grinded my teeth together for a few moments before opening my mouth, not wanting my sister to slip a bar of soap into my mouth. But I did it, opening wide like she wanted me to. 

_You deserve everything you have coming to you, Candace… stop complaining._

I held my mouth open as she placed the bar of soap between my teeth, biting down on it to keep it in place. This wasn’t right, this wasn’t how I usually was, but I just felt so helpless in here with her. 

She was like my father. That’s what she was. She was like my father. 

And everyone knew I was powerless when it came to facing my father. 

“It’s going to be alright, princess.” She giggled at me, continuing to wash my body off in the warm bubble bath we found ourselves in. “You are your mother’s daughter after all, this should come natural to you~” 

“Nnnghh…” I groaned through my teeth, glaring back at her. Just because I was doing this didn’t mean I liked it, and it was almost offensive for her to imply that being submissive should be easy for me. It wasn’t. 

“You should thank father for letting you be a real person.” She sighed, running her fingers over my skin as she rinsed me off. “Back in the good old days, a child born from a slave mother was also a slave, with no exception.” 

“Take that back!!” I spat the bar of soap out of my mouth, growling at her. “Just because my mother was a slave does not make me naturally submissive!!” 

I was instantly proven wrong as I felt a whimper escape my lips, feeling her grab me by the hair and shoving my head under the bubbly water. 

It instantly stung my eyes to be forced under the water, but not quite as badly as it drowned out my nose, beginning to fill my lungs with water as I struggled.

I gripped onto her wrists with both hands, making a fool of myself by failing to pry her fingers off of me. I was strong, but Claudia was still a monster. I couldn’t see, hear, or breathe- which left me with only one option, panic. 

“Mmmmmph!!!” I gasped for air as she pulled me back up, now finally able to breathe. 

But Claudia wasn’t done, she forced me forward onto my hands and knees, pointing my face down at the water. “Don’t forget to grab the soap this time, Candace.” 

“O-okay…” I blushed, taking my last chance to breathe in before being shoved back under the water. 

Claudia could kill me by just holding my head under the water, that’s how easy it would be, she had created the perfect set to film a murder. But even if she did kill me, I couldn’t really blame her. 

I, Candace St. Clair should not be getting subjected to this kind of treatment, but I knew I deserved it. 

I opened my eyes, letting them sting in the bubble bath as I searched for the bar of soap, picking it up in my mouth and biting down on it. I whimpered, breathing in and out through my nose as she pulled me back up, my teeth digging into the bar of soap. 

If there was one thing that our father had done for us, it was making us invincible. None of us were very submissive, but we could handle anything that you tried to throw at us. That’s what growing up under the heel of Cardinal Russo did to you. It made you indestructible. 

I may have been invulnerable, but Chloe wasn’t… and if my sister was treating **me** like this, I couldn’t imagine what she was doing to her slaves. 

“Give.” She held out an open palm in front of my face, gently scratching the back of my head like a cat as I spat the bar of soap out into her other hand, furiously spitting the disgusting suds from my mouth back out into the bubble bath. “Good kitten.” 

“Nnngh…” I whined, a well of dread forming in my chest as I heard her praise me. “Yes, Ma’am…” 

_Less like dad, more like mom…_

I groaned, spitting out more and more suds as I struggled to not grind my teeth together. “Thank you, sis…” 

“You’re welcome, Candace~” She grinned, sitting between me and the still running faucet, admiring my body. “Now let’s get those dirty words rinsed out of your mouth once and for all.”

I whimpered, blushing bright red as I tried to smile, my teeth grinding themselves to dust. “Yes… please…” 

She held her hands like a dish under the faucet, guiding handfuls of water to my mouth to help me rinse the soap suds away. My lips tingled as they reached her fingers, letting her tip my head back to gently pour the water into my mouth.

I gagged and coughed, filling the bath chamber with the echoes of a creature breaking under sheer pressure. Tears dripped from my cold glassy eyes, the sounds of my own sobs bouncing back into my water logged ears. 

“I… I… I want my mommy…”

“Oh dear… I thought we had washed away those mommy issues.” She ran her soft hands over my back, carving into me with just her touch as she got closer and closer and closer to the shame tucked between my legs. “You have to be tough and take it like a real girl, that’s what your mommy would do, don’t you wanna be strong like her?” 

“No!!” I bit back my tears, my entire body trembling as I snapped back at her, trying desperately to get my limbs to move, to fight back, to do something. “I don’t wanna be strong like her!!” 

I felt my sister grab my hair from behind, balling it up in her fist and yanking on it, tearing a scream straight from my lungs. “Wrong answer!!” 

Claudia forced herself inside of me, pressing her soapy fingers up my anus, three of them piercing inside of my most sensitive part of the body as she tried to ring my desperation and remaining willpower out of me. 

My hands curled into fists beneath me, like heavy balls connected to long chains, weighing me down, unable to move no matter how hard I tried. I was like a caged beast just sitting there, my body too terrified to listen to any commands but hers, not even mine.

She slammed my head back under the water, shoving my forehead into the shower floor, holding it there and refusing to let it budge an inch. My eyes rolled back in their sockets, red and stinging from the irritants in the water. 

I sobbed, my tears mixing with the sea of pain I was drowning in as bubble by bubble the air in my lungs slowly trickled out of my mouth, rising up to the surface of the water and popping. 

But Claudia wasn’t about to let up even while she was literally drowning her sister, she curled her fingers, scratching the walls of my anus inside of me as she fingered my asshole as roughly as she could, the fangs of a monster digging deeper and deeper into her prey. 

And I was her prey.

Even from beneath the water you could hear my muffled shrieks, drowned out by the pained deluge of water rushing in to replace the air in my lungs. 

I pushed against the palm of her hand, begging with the full force of my desperation to be released from this. But Claudia- like she had always been- was cruel and needlessly brutal. 

There was something endlessly frustrating about pleading with my eldest sibling for a hint of much needed gentleness, and to be told by her actions- _no_ . _No you may not breathe, no you may not rest. No._

I was begging for her to let go of me, and she was telling me no. She was here to brutally fistfuck me, possibly until I passed out or died, she wasn’t here to show mercy, she wanted to beat me into a workable shape- one that was tougher than the one I had entered back into her life with. 

I coughed, watching with terror as a flurry of bubbles quickly escaped me, rushing upwards into my face and into my eyes as they flowed upwards, leaving me that much closer to death. 

Meanwhile, Claudia fingered me fast and hard. I didn’t stretch easily, but like with everything in life, Claudia’s fingers who not be taking no for an answer. 

_Come on, I can take more than three…_

It was all I could do from down here, arch my back and hope she slips another fingers into my anus, the longer it took her to stretch me open and tear me in half with her fist, the longer it was going to take before I could breathe again. The quicker she raped me the quicker I would be done being raped. 

I was so wet that I couldn’t tell whether the droplets running down my legs were water or blood, but I knew how it felt- like I was being ripped in two. More quiet whimpers of indignation from beneath the water were all I could give her, the only signs that I was still alive and that she should keep going, that she wasn’t fingerfucking a corpse just yet. 

And then finally- somehow both mercilessly and mercifully- she forced a fourth finger inside of my waiting bleeding asshole, wet from the horrors of the rape chamber around her as my sister tried to pry an orgasm from my punching bag of a prostate. 

_Don’t dish out what you can’t take, St. Clair._

That was the lesson here. I could take this, I could do this. I was strong. I had survived being raped by my father, and I was going to survive being raped by my sister. 

_Mommy could do it, and so can I…_

In this moment it really did feel like I was in my mother’s place, my wants and needs drowned out by the force of a more powerful hand, keeping me down, holding me back, telling me _no_. 

She continued to pound me with her hand, beating my prostate in as she fisted me, the little punching bag inside me desperately waiting for her thumb to finally join in, to wrap her fingers around my prostate and tear it out of me by force, to rip an orgasm straight from my loins like it it was desperate to break free from me. 

I was sure the tears coming from my eyes were tears of joy as I felt her finally do it, making my knees wobble and shake as she slid- _shoved_ \- her entire fist up my asshole, tearing into it like a weapon. That shaking in my knees, this feeling in my loins, that was the feeling of an orgasm building against my will- and I welcomed it. 

But I was also running out of breath. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but even the slimmest glimpses of light around me were fading into oblivion, I was going to lose consciousness if I didn’t breathe soon. I was going to **_DROWN_ **if I didn’t escape her evil clutches.

_She has to let me go, she wouldn’t actually kill me. That’s not what she wants- right?!_

But she kept going, never letting up. She kept saying no when I asked to breathe, not fighting back, not letting myself waste my energy on anything else except for surviving, but she kept telling me no- and it was getting harder and harder to convince myself that she wasn’t at least _okay_ with drowning me for her own selfish pleasure, even if that wasn’t what she was really after. 

_She killed her last slave… but- but I’m her SISTER, she wouldn’t…_

I couldn’t just lie down and die, I had to resist- to escape- and that finally gave my limbs the kick they needed to start moving again, to start obeying ME instead of her, like they should. 

My loins were boiling beneath the water as I inched closer to an orgasm on my sister’s knuckles, my own fingers now finally curling around her wrist as I struggled to pry her hand from the back of my head. 

I had done my job, I had lied here and let her do this to me, and now she needed to let me go. I could take a lot of things, but I couldn’t survive having my lungs crushed by the pressure of the water beneath hers. 

_You deserve everything that’s coming to you… even if it kills you…_

I hung onto her arm, not trying to pull it off of me, but for support. I wasn’t submissive, but I was smart, I could tell she wanted me to come with her hand inside of me. So that’s what I was gonna do. There was no competition here, no back and forth between her and I, just her. 

“Nnnghh!!!” I gagged, a huge rush of air clawing its way out of my mouth, finally leaving me with no air left at all. “Mmmmphnnnngh!!!!” 

My body wanted to spasm, to thrash at my sister until she either let me up to breathe, or I dropped dead. But I couldn’t move, not against all of the pain keeping me subdued. 

_Calm down!! Calm down!!_

I couldn’t breathe, that’s fine. But I still had a little while before I was unconscious, I just had to orgasm. I just had to focus on what I could do, stay calm and try not to break. 

But the terror of losing my last breaths was finally overcome by the immense physical pain I was in, the fearsome power of the woman behind me which my whole body shook with. 

She tore into me, now that her whole fist was inside of my anus she had no reason to hold back. She had torn me open and now she just had to beat me to a pulp, and extract whatever shame I still had left- and I was **living** for it. 

It felt so immensely terrible that I couldn’t help but love it, my prostate was sensitive, but even it couldn’t withstand a thrashing like this without losing its dignity. 

“Mmmmmppppphh~!!!!!!!!” 

I came. With my ass spread open by my sister’s fist driving itself deeper and deeper until she could almost grab my sex and squeeze it in her hands, I screamed and moaned as I came, the last of any air in my lungs escaping me into the water above. 

Everything in my vision was fuzzy as the world ceased to exist around me, my sight and hearing finally going out and giving up. I thrashed against her as I came, satisfied that it was finally over. 

But Claudia didn’t stop going, and I didn’t stop thrashing against her with my arms because she wasn’t stopping. She wasn’t letting up.

_NO!! LET ME OUT!!!!!_

I did what she said and I behaved, I let myself be raped at her hand, just like father had done to me, but she wasn’t stopping. Surely my moans would have let her know that she had done her job, that I was finished. But for some reason she wasn’t quite finished. 

_I don’t deserve this!!!! Let me go!!!!_

I could have possibly broken free from her grasp if I tried sooner, if I had done everything I could to tear myself from her claws when I had all of my strength, but instead I had let her petrify me. She scared me into submission, keeping my hands heavy enough to weigh me down while I had any semblance of strength in my body. But now I was drained, pathetic, and helpless. 

I fought against her with all of my strength, desperately trying to escape her. 

And I felt myself break against her hands. 

**_Crack._ **

I screamed louder than I ever had at the worst pain I had ever felt in my entire life, feeling some part of me snap inside of her, at her touch. 

I screamed at the top of my empty collapsing lungs but I couldn’t hear myself, nobody could hear me, not while I was submerged. 

It was only when I finally heard my screams echoing back at me that I realized it was over, that she had yanked my head back out of the water by my hair and was now forcefully ripping her hand from my beaten and subjugated anus. 

I couldn’t describe the sounds I was making, not even to myself, but I was screaming in pain and terror, desperately gasping for breath, trying to fill my lungs with air before they exploded. 

She dropped me, letting me fall back face first into the water and pick myself back up, and she left. 

She was moaning as loud as I was screaming, recoiling from an orgasm that had just rocked her entire body to the core. 

She came just as hard as I did, almost harder, to the sounds of my screams and cries, only able to pry herself away from me after the sounds of me shattering beneath her, physically and mentally. 

She struggled to her feet, clawing her way to her cane and limping away, slamming the screen door open so that she could escape. 

I whimpered loudly, desperately, thankful that it was finally all over. 

Peering through the screen door, the rest of the master bathroom was the first thing I saw when I regained my sense of vision, but all I could do was crawl away from it. 

That way meant safety and escape, but it also meant my sister. I dragged myself as far into the bath chamber as I could, cornering myself for her as I slumped over, amazed that I was still able to move my arms and legs, astonished that I hadn’t bled out into the bath at all. To say that my bubble had been burst would have been a demonstrable understatement. It had been shattered, **I** had been shattered, Claudia had shattered me. 

I couldn’t pinpoint the place within me that my newfound energy was coming from, but I was going to use it all here and now, to scream and sob and cry. I hunched over in the corner of the bathtub and I cried loudly for the world around me to hear, to know what pain and torment I was in. 

Where was Tallie when I needed her? Where was **Leah** when I needed her? Where was **_my mother_ ** when I needed her? 

Where was Claudia’s mother when I needed her? 

Where was Lilith right now… right when both of us needed her? 

“Chloe…” I hacked and coughed, still spitting up water and suds into the bubble bath below. “Sophia…” 

_This is what you get for hurting her…_ Chloe could do better than this, Chloe wouldn’t be such a wreck. She was strong like that. She was stronger than me. _This is what you get for hurting one of Claudia’s slaves… This is what you get for breaking Chloe. This is your punishment._

I cried as loud as I could, unconcerned with who might be hearing me, unable to stop myself from sobbing, like an infant being drowned.

I had just been baptized. 

“Claudia!!” I don’t know why her name was the first to come out of me, why she was the first person I called. I needed my mother, I wanted my mommy, but Claudia was the closest thing I had to that right now. The closest thing I had to my mother right now was more like my father than anyone else. “ **Claudia!!** ” 

Leave it up to a lifetime of abuse to convince someone that their abuser was the best person to help them afterward, the only person who could **fix** them afterward, after the abuse was all said and done, and the raping was over. 

“Please… come back…” 

I turned towards where I thought she may be, locking eyes with that glowing red serpent at the head of her cane before I ever laid an eye on her, tears tearing their way from by eyes anew just from looking into it. 

“Please… help…” 

“I’m here.” The sound of her voice followed by the sound of splashing water behind me let me know that she was here, she was back. “I’m here to help you, I promise…” 

She laid her hand on my naked body, placing her hand on my shoulder. It was less of an exclamation of _I’m here to protect you_ and more of a declaration of _I have you, you’re mine_ \- but it felt good, it helped, if only just a little bit. 

“Khkhkhkhkh…” I sobbed, clenching my teeth together as I was forced to turn towards her, given no choice but to lay my eyes on her again. It was just like with daddy, I had to lean on the person who had just raped me for support. 

But that wasn’t new… that’s what I had expected Chloe to do for so long. It didn’t feel wrong. 

Just for once, it felt right. 

She rocked me back and forth, holding my head to her chest and refusing to let me go. I cried, dripping tears onto her plush breasts like I was a shower nozzle, helpless and broken. 

_You deserve every part of this… Stop complaining. Stop crying._

At least Chloe could hold back tears. At least Chloe was stronger than me. Why was I so weak? Why couldn’t I be as strong as Chloe? Why couldn’t I be as strong as my mother?

“Mmmph…” I curled my hands into fists, clenching my hair in my fingers, about ready to pull it all out. “Mommy…” 

“Your mommy isn’t here right now, Candace.” Claudia held me there, not letting me go. “You have to be strong like her, she’s not here right now.” 

“ **And why not?!** ” I shouted at her, burying my face in her chest. “ **She was here last time!!** ” 

“You’re not a baby anymore, Candace.” She tore me from her chest, staring me dead in the eyes as she spoke. “You’re a grown woman, and you’re mother is dead.” 

“But why is she dead…” I glared up at her, eyes still full of tears. “Why did Daddy kill my Mom?” 

“I…” Claudia paused, tears in her eyes as she struggled to maintain eye contact. “We should get you out of the bath.” 

“Claudia?” 

“I don’t know why she’s dead!!” Claudia snapped at me, once again burying my head in her chest, as she lied. She was lying straight to my face, through her teeth, as she tried to shake the thought of my mother out of her head. “It could have been an accident…” 

She knows something that she’s not telling me. She knows something more about my mother’s death, and she refuses to let herself tell me. 

“I can’t baby you like your mom did.” She placed both palms on my temples, holding my head in her hands as she pried me away again. “You have to be strong like she was, or be strong like father is, and you have to decide.” 

I stared at her, clenching my teeth. “What?”

“Do you want to be like Daddy? Or do you want to be like Mommy? Decide.”

I screwed my eyes shut, the pain of losing my world in the span of two weeks crashing in on me, like the suppressive waves of the ocean, dragging me further and further into the depths. 

“Mommy.” I spat it out, sick to my stomach at not just my father, but at myself. “I wanna be like Mommy.” 

And then I felt her lips pressed against mine.

But this time they stayed there, warm and wet, pressing against my lips with force. Her passion and power kept me in place, filling me with a cold dread that crept its way from my head to my toes, clawing my lips off. She dragged me further under the water with her kiss, sucking the air from my lungs, drowning me anew. But at the same time, it filled me with a strangely warm sensation, not just protective- possessive. 

“That’s my little sister.” She pulled away, her lips now curled into a smile. “You’re always going to be my little sis, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” I cursed myself under my breath, choking on my pride and dignity as I sat there in the bath with her, soaking in the same water I would have drowned in if it hadn’t been for her mercy at the last moment. “Yes…” 

Claudia was a lot like him, but I wasn't. I didn’t want to be like him, but I owed a lot to my father for making me the person I am. Just like Claudia permitting me to breathe, I wouldn’t be here right now if he had forced me to live as a slave- and it was about time that I paid my family back for that favor.

_If Sophia can do it, so can I… this is my punishment._

“Let’s go ahead and rinse away those mommy issues.” She giggled, lifting a handful of water from the bubble bath before letting it fall back into the ocean below. “Turn the faucets off and drain the bath, Candace. I’ll see you when you’re done~” 

“Where are you going?” I glared up at her, staring into the glowing red eyes of her serpentine walking implement as she walked away. “Why do I have to drain the bath?”

She smiled, humming to herself. “Because I told you to.” 

“Yes, Ma’am…” I curled by hands into fists, wanting to tear her vocal chords from her throat, but I couldn’t. I was going to be less like her, and more like my mother. My mother could get abused and raped as much as my father wanted to and still be able to do as she was told when it was done, and so could I. “Whatever you say.”

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

Claudia didn’t return until I had done as I was told, but she did eventually return to my side, just like she promised. 

“You seem to be doing a little bit better now?” 

She was fully dressed, but I was still sopping wet, curled up in the corner of the now empty and dried bathtub. 

“I can’t fathom what exactly gives you that impression, but yeah… I’m fine.” 

“Good!!” She smiled, cane still in hand as she approached the bathtub. “My family is waiting downstairs to see you, so we should get you all dressed up?” 

“Dressed up?” I scoffed at her, shaking my head incredulously. “You expect me to stay after that?” 

“Yes?” She frowned, unsure of what I was getting at. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“You almost **killed** me.”

“I’m trying to help you, Candace.” She sighed, extending the cane for me to grab. “It was meant as a bonding exercise~” 

I sighed, rolling my eyes at her as I stood up, brushing her cane to the side. “I can dress myself.” 

The floor of the bathtub wasn’t even all that slippery, it was dry. I had drained out the entire bath chamber, but for some reason- I still fell down.

It was like my hip buckled beneath me, sending me tumbling forward onto my hands and knees, slamming me onto the floor again. 

“But you don’t have to do things by yourself.” I felt her hand on my shoulder, letting me know she was there. “You have your family here to help you, and we’re always going to love you… I’m always going to love you.”

“You call that love?” 

“I would call that the scariest moment of my entire life if it had been an accident… almost drowning my sister, just because I got carried away.” She frowned, rubbing my back to help comfort me. “But it wasn't an accident… I was in control and making sure that you were going to be okay the entire time. I'm not going to accidentally kill you, there's not going to be an accident like that with you..." 

I frowned, staring down at the floor below. “Just like my mother’s death had been an accident?”

“Yeah…” She sighed, squeezing my shoulder with one hand. “But it’s not going to happen again, not with you. I won't let it.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.” 

“Okay…” I bit my lip, staring up at her as I let her take me by the hand, helping me to my feet. “What now?” 

“Now we go fix the broken shatters of our relationship.” She helped me out of the bathtub, continuing to help me walk so that I didn’t fall down afterwards. “More sister bonding~” 

“And that means?”

“Hair and makeup and dressing my lovely little sister up, like a doll~” 

I giggled, shaking my head at the idea. “I guess so…” 

“Chin up, you’re doing great.” She smiled at me, rubbing my back almost proudly. “You’ll look just like your mother in no time.” 

“Hm…” I blushed, smiling at the idea just a little bit. “Okay, that sounds fun…” 

“I’ve missed you a lot.” She smiled back at me. “I really have, I promise. It’s nice to have you back in my life, and I don’t want you to leave again.”

“I don’t want to leave either…” I smiled, thinking it over for a moment. “Can I get a moment alone with that new slave of yours before I leave?”

“Of course you can… just say the word and I’ll let you play with her.” 

“Thank you… that means a lot to me.” 

“I love you, Candace.”

“I love you too, Claudia…”

And I guess that’s it… 

Claudia got me all dried off and dressed up, and she was even nice enough to do my hair afterward, and she was right to say that I looked like my mother, because I did. 

But this is where I have to say goodbye, it’s time for me to leave, I guess. 

It wasn’t pleasant, I’m sure of that, but I hope it was at least a little bit cathartic to see me get my just desserts after all that time, I deserved it after all, I think we can all agree on that. 

I’ve done a lot of terrible things to Chloe, so it’s only fair to have them done back to me by someone just as mean and cruel, I couldn’t really blame Claudia for that- just like I couldn’t really blame my father for wanting to toughen us all up as children. I came out a stronger person because of it. 

But I’m going to be less like my father and more like my mother now. 

She was a wonderful woman, and I really wish I could give you the chance to meet her- but I’m not going to be around for much longer, at least not like this. 

I’m not disappearing, I won’t be vanishing off the face of the planet, I still exist and you’ll get to see me, but it won’t be anything like this. I won’t be around to narrate what I’m thinking or going through anymore, you won’t get to see from my point of view anytime soon.

And I think that’s for the best, to not have to watch a heinous abuser like me abuse my position and power all for the sake of claiming one girl as my own. 

I may not like it, Chloe has a new master now.

And I’m sorry if you thought that maybe I’d try to wrangle her from Claudia’s grasp at the first opportunity I got, but I know better. I don’t deserve her, and I’m not the kind of person who has the right to claim her as my own again. 

That’s what I was being punished for, hurting her in the first place. So even though I want her back more than anything, I don’t want to hurt her anymore. 

I hate that she’s here with my sister, and at least I know where she is now. 

I’m glad to know that she’s safe, relatively safe at least. There are better people out there for her, I’m sure, but there are also worse people to trust her in the hands of. 

I’m stalling for time I know, but I just don’t want to go… not yet. 

I know this isn’t how you expected it to go, but at least it’s better this way, right?

You’re happy with this… she’s better with her than with me, isn’t she?

Right… I have to let go eventually, and I might as well start by letting go of my grasp on the story. 

Thanks for sticking it out to the end with me. I’ll see you again someday, I promise. 

I love you, and goodbye~

 _Yours forever and ever,_ _  
__Candace Emmilice Saint Clair._


	30. To a Fault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright.
> 
> I have just about had it with you miserable little feebleminds trying to insinuate bad things about me.
> 
> What have I ever done to you all to justify being so publicly turned against, nothing. You're all just weak and angry and you miss Candace, I get that.  
> But you can't have Candace. You all belong to me dear readers, and so will Candace soon enough, just like Chloe. 
> 
> So whatever, I really did try my best to get you to like me, I did. But I guess word of mouth from the girls further down is enough to convince you that I'm somehow a monster, even though I'm not.  
> Enjoy reveling in the fact that you've escaped my grasp for now, but know that I do not easily forgive, especially those who so unceremoniously turn on me.
> 
> I'll see you soon, hold your breath.
> 
> _Your violently enraged empress_  
>  _Claudia Rosegold Mariam_

_No… It can’t be…_

I ducked behind a corner, hoping and praying that she hadn’t spotted me as she came down the stairs and circled around into the dining room. 

_That’s her…_

I peeked out from behind the wall, just for an instant, just for a moment, trying to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. I wasn’t mistaken, she was who I thought she was. 

_That’s Candace._

The gears in my tiny stupid little brain were stuck again, but not on something vile or hideous this time, but because of just how excited I was to see her again. My heart was thumping and my gears were spinning on overdrive because of her. 

My feet were itching to get moving, but I had to stop myself from just running up to her and wrapping my arms around her, I left her for a reason. I didn’t even know what to say to her after everything we went through. For all I knew she didn’t even want me back, and I couldn’t be sure that I wanted her back either. 

And I most certainly didn’t have the power to make it a reality, only she did. Her and her sister, Claudia. 

_She doesn’t know I’m here. She doesn’t want to see me._

My heart slumped in my chest. Candace wasn’t here to see me, she was here to see her sister. She definitely didn’t want or need me popping up to make things more complicated for her than they already are. 

But at the same time… I really missed her. 

I stepped down the hallway, following the sound of her entering into the kitchen, waiting for her to be fully inside before I peeked around the corner and into the dining room. 

_What would I even say to her? Hi, I miss you- but I belong to your sister now… that’d just make things worse._

I wracked my brain for possible things to say to her, but I couldn’t quite come up with something that succinctly summed up everything I was thinking or feeling without also making my former master even angrier at me than she probably already was. 

_Okay, Chloe. Pretend you’re at a convention… just walk up to her… and say hello._

I took a deep breath before stepping into the archway, slowly making my way about halfway down the dining room as I waited for her to come back out. 

But when she eventually stepped back out of the kitchen she had her eyes glued to the drink in her hand, transfixed on making sure it didn’t spill as she stirred it. 

_Great. So much for trying not to surprise her._

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my pumping heart before I said anything, watching her bring the drink to her mouth to sip from it. 

“Good afternoon, Madame St. Clair…” 

She sighed, pulling her drink from her lips and rolling her eyes as she replied. “Good after-”

And then she froze. 

_Oh no… this was a bad idea._

We locked eyes instantly, and we held each other by the gaze for several moments thereafter. She wasn’t hiding her eyes like she normally does, that fiery look of hers was out for all to see. No contact lens would hide her true self to me anymore, she’s revealed herself to the world around her. 

She had gorgeous eyes, one red and one blue, a tempestuous beauty stuck between two worlds, one within and one without. I couldn’t decide what I wanted from them, the alluring escape of the ocean in one eye against the fiery passion of love in the other. They were wide with shock- a creeping horror crawling upon her, staring her right in the eyes like she had just seen a ghost. Like she was watching a murder take place in front of her feet. 

She made so many little moves that she herself probably didn’t even realize were happening. Feet tapping. Fingernails scratching. Hair flips abound. Biting down on the side of her cheek and chewing lightly as she did when she was anxious. I had made her anxious without even trying to, just my presence was souring her good mood. 

I could pinpoint her gaze to every part of my body that she ended up looking at- my eyes, my hair, my teeth, my cheeks, my tits- her eyes remained locked on my tits for a good few seconds, and I couldn’t really blame her for that. 

Candace often spent a lot longer thinking about what she was going to do or say than actually doing or saying it, and she probably didn’t even realize that. She too had gears in her head that locked up at times, trying to figure out what to do. She was fumbling for something to do with her hands, trying to break through this awkward illusion that she was fine.

This was the point in time where one character would cartoonishly drop whatever it was they were holding in shock, but she had missed her window for that, at least as far as making it look authentic and convincing that is. It was still in the span of microseconds, but she stood there for a lot longer than she actually realized she did, before choosing to drop the mug of whatever she was drinking onto the floor anyways. 

The house around us wasn’t quiet by any means, but you could still hear the sound of glass smashing against the floor as she dropped it, her hands quickly clasped over her mouth- not out of shock, but sadness. 

She had tears in her eyes as she said my name. I could hear the syllables slip out of her mouth like they were thoughts being ejected from her mind without thinking. You could hear the sound of glass shattering through the whole house, but you could only hear her voice sounded out the syllables of my name if you were standing right there in front of her, like I was. 

“Sophia?” 

She tossed the mug to the ground with a great deal of force, the sound of glass shattering was near deafening, but even through the hands clasped to her lips as she bit back her own tears, I could hear her voice. 

And it was in that moment that I realized that Sophia Cavalier wasn’t really gone, the person that I am wasn’t really dead. In that moment, hearing that name slip out of her without thinking, I finally understood how Candace really saw me. 

She wanted to correct herself, I could see it in her eyes. She was correcting herself, she was saying the name _Chloe_ in her own head. But I heard what she said, that’s how she thinks of me in her head before she puts things through a filter, that’s why she so often took longer to act than she thinks, she had to translate before she said my name. 

She still thought of me as Sophia. 

I lowered my head, staring straight down at the floor, fixating on the mess at hand as I avoided her eyes- smiling. 

I made sure to keep those eyes of mine off of her for as long as I could, refusing to let her see the tears in my eyes as I dropped to my knees, overcome with a sense of pride in myself, more than happy to hear her say my name again. 

“My apologies, Miss… this is my fault, I’ll clean this up right away for us.” 

From where I knelt, it sounded like my words were what prompted her to slowly step backwards, letting me move in towards the quickly growing pool on the floor that I now recognized as tea. But I couldn’t be certain that it wasn’t her receding footsteps that prompted me to crawl towards the spill, we were in lockstep with each other even after the two short weeks we had spent away from one another- and those two weeks had somehow felt like an eternity. 

_Why am I so stupid happy to see you again?_

I couldn’t stop grinning, she couldn’t see it but I was definitely smiling. I left Candace St. Clair for a reason, but I was still so happy to see her again. I had done this to get away from her, but it seems that like with everything in life I had failed, and I was so relieved that I had. 

Sure she was a liar, a cheater, and a monster- but she still had her iron grasp around me. I was still obsessed with her, and half of a month away wasn’t going to change that. 

I was still in love with her, and I was fine with that. I wasn’t the one that needed to change, she was. 

I was at her feet, on my knees with nowhere to go now. I had dropped to the floor in an attempt to hide my tears, watching them drip into the pool below, going unnoticed. I didn’t want to clean this up, I didn’t even have so much as a towel to dry the pool with anyway. 

As a slave I accepted blame like I ought to, but the mess on the floor between us wasn’t really my fault, I hadn’t been the one to purposefully shatter a ceramic mug onto the dining room tile to make space between us. The liquid rift expanding between us was of her design, and I was the one paying the price for it. 

Nothing that was happening to me was my fault, and we both knew that. I **hoped** she saw that. 

Aria had been the one to help me see that it wasn’t my fault, and I held that to heart. I still believed it, I still believed that this wasn’t really my fault, and I said as much to Candace’s face the day we parted. 

_“I’m not the one who should be getting punished, Master. This isn’t my fault…”_

I did what I could, grabbing the broken shards of glass into my hands, trying desperately to fix something that I didn’t have the tools or ability to fix right now, the rift between us wasn’t something that I had the power to fix, that was up to her. 

But I still tried, gathering the glass shards into my open and vulnerable hand, glass shards hot against my soft skin, hurting myself as I desperately tried to address a problem that I was powerless to solve. 

_Oww…_

They burned in my hands, scalding my skin, but that was no reason to stop trying. I had to do something about this, even if it hurt me. She didn’t have to fix this mess if she didn’t want to, she could just walk around it. 

“Careful where you step, Ma’am. They’re scalding hot and really sharp.”

“Then don’t pick them up, you moron!!” She scolded me harshly, the last of my tears flying from my face as I snapped my head up to look at her, to face her directly. “Drop them before you hurt yourself!!” 

My face blushed bright pink as I stared up into her crying remorseful eyes, listening to the sounds of glass clattering onto the floor as I did as I was told, dropping the shards back into the rift below. 

There was so much I wanted to say to her in that moment, but I couldn’t. My mouth was shut tight, holding back the noises of a girl who wanted so desperately to tell her how much I missed her. I reeled, not just from the burning heat in my hands as I relieved myself from the superheated shards, but at just how stupidly happy I was to hear her yelling at me again.

“Chloe, I-” She was ashamed of herself, I could tell that she felt terrible for yelling at me, but I understood where it had come from. It made me happy to hear the concern in her voice, to know that she still cared about me after all. She just wanted to make sure I was being safe and not getting hurt. 

It was funny to think how such a small moment from one perspective could be so impactful to someone else, how a tiny interaction could be such a big thing to someone on the other side without you even realizing it. 

One paragraph becomes four. Two paragraphs become six. Three paragraphs become ten. 

What might have been a good eight or so paragraphs from the other side passes by without a thought, before you even recognize the sound of voices from down the hall, speaking to each other through a closed door. 

I wish I knew what she was thinking, I wish I knew what it was like from her point of view, but before you know it the moment has passed. 

**_Thump_ **. And then something finally snaps you back to reality. 

“What-”

“Just-”

“Happened?” 

My master stood behind me, her cane pressed to the back of my head as she pushed forward, lowering my face to the floor, dangerously close to the scalding hot mess of glass and steam below- ready to slam me into the mess her sister had made. 

“Master?” I was almost relieved to hear her voice, pulling me back into reality before I did something stupid. “Is Miss St. Clair alright?”

“My _sister_ is in the restroom, vomiting into the sink as we speak.” She did not sound very happy, not at all. “But she says she’ll be fine, no thanks to **you**.” 

“I must have startled her, Ma’am.” I closed my eyes, tears gently dripping into the burning puddle below, just inches from my face. “I was just too excited to meet her…”

“I expect you to first apologize, and then get to work cleaning this up.” She pulled the barrel of her weapon from the back of my head, deciding to smack me in the back of the head with it rather than pushing my face into the ground. “Don’t expect that belt to come off tonight.” 

“Yes, Master… I understand.” 

The bump on the back of my head was sore as I rubbed it, but it was the least of my worries. 

I could hear Candace throwing up from the other side of the door before I even got there, and it didn’t make me feel any better about my actions. But I knocked on the door, leaving a slight wet spot on the wood from my still burning hands. 

“I said I’m going to be a minute!!” She snapped back instantly, her mood having long since soured. “Leave me alone!!” 

_She doesn’t want to talk to you, Chloe… you’ve already fucked up enough, say your piece and leave._

“I…” Stutters came from my lips in the place of words. “I’m sorry… I’ll let you be…” 

But I couldn’t leave her be, this couldn’t just be where we left things. I was holding out hope that she’d changed, but I still hadn’t seen it from her. 

_Fuck._

I slumped to the ground, on my knees in front of the door that separated us. We were simultaneously as close and as far away as we had ever been. I pressed my forehead to the door in front of me, one hand clasped around the head of my collar. 

_I’m really going to belong to Claudia for the rest of my life, aren’t I?_

The thought was so much more than terrifying, it was heartbreakingly disappointed. I left Candace’s side for a reason, to teach her a lesson, but she hadn’t really learned. She was really still the same Candace she’d always been. 

_You really haven’t changed have you, Candace?_

I had been right to make the decision that I had made, she really didn’t deserve to have me, no matter how much I missed her. 

Claudia expected me to apologize, but her little sister wasn’t the one who deserved to be apologized to. 

_You still don’t see that, do you?_

_You’re still waiting for me to beg for your forgiveness._

_But I am not going to be the one to come crawling back to you._

_I don’t want to hear your voice until you’re ready to show me that you’ve changed._

I didn’t realize how badly I wanted it, but I needed to know that she was going to change, because if nothing ever changed then she didn’t really learn her lesson. She didn’t really miss me. 

**_Thump_ **. Claudia was glaring down at me, pointing me off back into the house to start cleaning before she tapped her cane against the door, trying to get Candace’s attention. 

“Candace, dear… why don’t you come into the sitting room and rest…” 

That woman right there, she was my master. Not Candace, Claudia. 

“I’ll have the slaves clean up, we’ll get you some water, and you can just relax.” 

And I was going to do everything in my power to make sure they both knew that. 

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I didn’t stick around to hear whatever Candace’s last words were, they didn’t matter to me. What mattered to me now was doing as I was told, putting Sophia Cavalier behind me and being the best slave that I could be. 

Sponges, towels, rags. I grabbed them all and I got to work. I got down onto the dining room floor and I scrubbed my ass off, making sure everything was absolutely spotless before retrieving a glass of water for my master’s sister like she had intended me to, delivering it to Claudia. 

“Master?” I stopped Claudia in the hallway outside of the dining room, not wanting Candace to overhear us. 

“My sister is waiting for me in the sitting room. What is it, slave?”

“I wanted to apologize to you first, for causing such a scene back there.” I held the glass of water out for her to take, letting the cooling aura of the glass numb the sting of my burning hands while I could. “It doesn’t matter to me when this belt comes off, I’m more than happy to keep it on until you say otherwise, but I promise to be a better slave to you from now on.” 

Claudia smiled, appreciative but confused. “And where is this coming from?”

“From the bottom of my heart, Ma’am.” I took a deep breath, clasping my hands together in front of my waist. “If anyone deserves me at my best, it’s you.” 

“Chloe.” She frowned ever so slightly, lifting my chin with just one finger. “Do you still miss your last owner?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I stared her straight in the eyes and told the truth. “I won’t lie to you, Master. I miss her every day.” 

“And if I gave you the opportunity to return to her right here and now, would you take it?”

“No, Ma’am.” I kept my gaze fixed on Claudia. “I miss her a lot, but she doesn’t deserve me.”

“Any master who would let go of their slave is weak, Chloe. Remember that from-”

“With all due respect, Master.” I interrupted her. “There’s more than one way to be strong, and I think we all know that.” 

“You’re not like the other girls.” Claudia gazed into my eyes, hers filled with a sense of awe and bewilderment as she stared into my soul. “You’re not a finished slave, are you?”

“A finished slave?”

“There’s still something in you… something that refuses to die.” She clenched her teeth together, her eyes hungry. “And I’m certain it has something to do with that last master of yours.”

“Call me sentimental, but part of me is holding onto hope that she can change… but until such a day comes when my last master mends her ways and shows me that she’s changed… I won’t even consider her a possibility, Ma’am.” 

“You think she owes you an apology?” 

“I don’t think, Ma’am. That’s not my place to do… I **want** , that’s what I do. I have no thoughts of my own, only my desires… and that’s all I have- the only thing that can’t be taken from me.” 

“That rebellious spirit of yours is going to be your undoing.”

“And I’m ready to face the consequences of that, Master.” 

“I can turn any girl into a drone, Chloe. Even you’ll be one in time, girl… just like the rest.” 

“I’m sure I will, Ma’am… but in the meantime- I think your sister needs you more than I do.” 

“We’ll get to that, but first-” Claudia gently led me back to the sitting room, where Candace was sitting and waiting for the two of us. “Is there something you would like to say to my sister, dear? I think she deserves an apology, don’t you?”

“Yes, Ma’am… she does deserve an apology.” She didn’t, but I was still going to give her one, no matter how hard that was going to be for me. “I would like to deeply apologize for causing you such inconvenience, Ma’am. I’m sorry for surprising you like I did. If there’s anything I can do for you, please… let me know.” 

I stepped towards her, taking a deep breath as I bowed, staring up into her eyes to make sure that she knew how I really felt. 

“I’m fine.” Candace didn’t look over at me however, she kept her eyes away from me, not wanting to accept my apology for what it was. “Are you alright? You didn’t burn your hands, did you?” 

“If I did, it’s my own fault…” I blushed, looking down at my hands as I stood back up. I did hurt my hands, and that was her fault- not mine. But it still made me happy to think that maybe somewhere inside of her she was worried about my safety. “And I’m ready to face the consequences of such a thing.”

I didn’t usually get so angry, and even when I did I refused to show it, but I was sick and tired of apologizing to her for something wasn’t at all my fault. 

“I don’t want to hear any more apologies, okay?” She scoffed, keeping her eyes off of me as I spoke, and for once it appeared that Candace actually felt the same way that I did. “It was my fault, not yours.”

_No… She didn’t…_

This was the part of the conversation where I said something back to her, bowed and did as I was told, but I was stuck on those words. Stuck on Candace actually admitting that what had happened wasn’t my fault. For once she said exactly what I wanted to hear her say, that it was her own fault and not mine. 

_Candace?_

The silence had gone on long enough, prompting Claudia to step in and say something, even if Candace didn’t want to hear it. “Sister, dear. Just let her apologize-”

“I don’t want her to apologize, because it wasn’t her fault, Claudia.” She couldn’t look at me, but she could look at Claudia. She glared at her sister, her eyes hot and angry, voice stuck in a growl. “Let her off the hook, okay?”

Claudia was perplexed. “Is… something the matter, Candace?”

“No” Candace’s cheeks were hot and pink and angry, full of shame and exhaustion. “I just don’t want **another** slave getting in trouble for just trying to do her job. She’s hurt. That’s punishment enough.”

_You stupid idiot… I hate you so much._

There she was, the same Candace St. Clair, being the same stupid arrogant idiot I’d fallen in love with those weeks and months ago- refusing to just give up and be a bad person, she won’t even let me have that. 

That’s how selfish she was, she refused to just let me have the satisfaction of knowing that leaving her had been the right choice. She had to actually go and **understand** what lesson she was supposed to be learning from me, she had to go and actually try to be a better person, and I hated it so much. 

“Well, alright…” I felt Claudia nudge me with her elbow. “Hear that… it looks like you might still be getting that chastity belt off tonight, after all~” 

“Do you mean that, Ma’am?” I stared up at Claudia, unable to keep myself from smiling at what Candace was doing for me. 

_You just can’t let me win can you?_

“Of course I do.” Claudia patted me on the back, pointing me out of the room. “Now go on, I think Candace needs a while, you’ll get to introduce yourself later.” 

“Yes, Ma’am… thank you.” 

_God damn you, Candace… why can’t you just be an evil monster like your father?_

I wanted to just turn my back on her, to walk away from her forever, but I couldn’t. I glanced back at her one last time before I stepped out, the faintest of blushes and the tiniest of smiles painted onto my face as I walked away.

_Maybe you can change after all…_

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Screams. I had been the only one around to hear it, but I couldn’t have misheard it, those were screams I had heard coming from up there. 

Candace looked different when the two of them came back downstairs. They had both bathed, but Candace was neither wearing the same clothes she had been wearing, nor was she wearing something that even looked like it belonged to her. 

She was wearing a dress, green, overly frilly, kitschy, not her style. It was too _50’s housewife_ to be one of Candace’s. Her hair had been done up behind her head, tied off into some sort of ponytail that she couldn’t have accomplished herself. 

And she was hiding her eyes again, not behind a pair of colored contacts, but sunglasses- sunglasses that didn’t do a very good job while they were lazily sliding down her nose, like they were now. She had a purse, I wasn’t sure if she had brought one with her, but she had one now, and it made a soft jingling sound like a bell whenever she moved. 

I’d hesitate to say that she was distraught, she just looked so… uncomfortable.

But here I was cowering behind the corner, spying on her and her sister as they came down the stairs when they had better things to concern themselves than me. 

“Auntie Candy~!!!!!” Everyone else had just gotten home, and it seemed like Lilian was more than excited to run up to Candace and get a hug from her mom’s little sister. 

“She’s so big already~” Candace scooped the girl right off the ground, holding her up and letting Lilian cling onto her. The kid might have been a little bit bigger than what I could carry, but Candace was plenty strong enough to be able to hold her without problem. 

It was well into the evening by this point, and half of the family was just getting home, no doubt exhausted from an afternoon of being out shopping. 

“Take the groceries into the kitchen and help Autumn get started on dinner.” Claudia directed Zenna to go ahead and move on, taking her daughter from Candace’s arms. “Where’s Josephine?” 

“She’s out picking up your mother, Ma’am.” Zenna smiled at Lilian, heading past the small group as she went in towards the kitchen. “Lilian was too antsy to get home.”

“I can see that.” Claudia rolled her eyes, setting the little one down on her feet between her and Candace. “Go ahead and help out with dinner, leave Lilian to me.”

“Yes, Master… whatever you say~” Zenna did as she was told, paying little mind to Candace’s presence as she focused on following orders. 

“So… what now, then?” Candace looked up at her older sister, waiting to figure out what to do while they waited. 

“Dinner will be done soon, let us go have a seat in the dining room while we wait for Josie and mom to get back home, shall we?” 

“Whatever you say…”

Claudia eagerly led her daughter back into the dining room, and Candace nervously followed behind her, clutching her purse to her waist as she turned her back to me, facing towards the dining room. 

“Well don’t just stand there and stare at me, you’re making this weird.” She stood there for a moment and waited for an answer, seemingly from no one. “Chloe?” 

“Huh?” I blushed, slow to realize that she was speaking to me even while her back was turned. “I… I’m sorry.” 

“What did I say about apologizing?” She scoffed, shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear it.” 

“I…” I sighed, stepping out into the hallway from around the corner. “Yes, Ma’am…” 

“You of all people ought to know not to waste time on being useless.” She snapped her fingers, gesturing for me to accompany her into the dining room. “Follow.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” I blushed, nervously finding myself at her side for the first time in a while, needing to get something out before Claudia could overhear us. “Why do you keep using that name?” 

“Chloe?” She didn’t even look at me as she spoke. “That’s who you are, isn’t it?” 

“It is, but earlier you-” I swallowed nervously. “You called me Sophia.” 

“If you want me to call you Sophia then fine, but pick a name already, and quick.” 

“Chloe.” I chewed on the side of my cheek in annoyance. “I’m Chloe.” 

“Good to know.” She sighed, pretending like I had just gone through the effort of introducing myself to her for the first time as we stepped into the dining room together, delivering us into the earshot of my master and her daughter. “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe.” 

“So you two have finally introduced yourselves, have you?” Claudia smiled over at us, beckoning for her sister to join her from over in her usual seat at the head of the table. 

“She’s a fan, it sounds like.” Candace didn’t miss a beat, circling around the table and heading towards the seat next to her sister, leaving me standing off by myself. “Always happy to meet a fan, I’m just a little bit too busy for autographs and pictures right now.”

“Is that so?” Claudia went ahead and pulled the seat out for Candace. “Last I heard, she wasn’t familiar with you~” 

“Well either she was lying or you’ve told her enough to turn her into a fan since then.” Candace sat down, propping both elbows up on top of the table. 

“Oh, really?” Claudia stared over at me now. “You haven’t been lying to me have you, Chloe?” 

_Shit. What am I supposed to say to that?_

I had been upfront with Claudia with many other things thus far, but that was one thing I had lied to her about. Of course I knew Candace, she was my former master… but Claudia didn’t want to know who my former master was. She didn’t matter to her. 

“It was the magazines, Ma’am…” I blushed, nervously staring down at the squeaky clean floors. “I’ve been admiring her in the magazines for a few days…” 

“Well there you have it.” Claudia giggled, rolling her eyes. “Looks like I’m not the only one here who thinks you’re pretty~” 

She turned towards her little sister, rubbing her cheek with her thumb, and for the first time since she had been alone with her father just a few weeks ago, Candace looked helpless. 

Candace’s normally strong appearance melted into a frown, not an angry frown or one that portrayed any degree of power, but a soft scared frown. 

Candace glanced over at me with red embarrassed cheeks for just a moment before looking right back over to her sister, hand still gently caressing her face. 

“Thank you, Chloe…” Candace swallowed nervously, still staring at Claudia attentively. “I think you’re pretty too.” 

I blushed, smiling nervously as I watched this unfold in front of me. “Thank you, Madame St. Clair.” 

“You can either take a seat or leave us be, Chloe.” Claudia kept her eyes on Candace at well. “Elbows off of the table, dear.” 

It took me a moment to process what Claudia had just said. I wasn’t sitting down yet, my elbows weren’t on the table, and neither were Lillian’s. She was talking to Candace. 

“Y-yes, Ma’am…” I didn’t realize it until Candace replied, but she was the one being spoken to. 

She was embarrassed to be doing so, but she took her elbows off the table like she was told, tucking her hands into her lap, a furious blush overtaking her face as she did so. 

A disturbing revelation was beginning to unfold in front of my eyes. 

Claudia said she could turn any girl into one of her drones, that’s what she had told me at least, but she wouldn’t do that to her own little sister… would she? 

I very clearly was not the only person in this room who wanted to make Candace St. Clair mine, because Claudia wanted it just the same. 

_She_ **_just_ ** _got me, and now Candace is here… how grrr… How greedy can you be?_ I pouted, sitting down in my seat, elbows propped up on top of the table. _I can’t even get away from Candace for five seconds before Claudia goes dragging her back into my life…_

“Stop fuming over there, dear.” That time Claudia **was** talking to me. “Be a good example for Candace and use proper manners, Chloe~” 

Candace took offense to that, getting all red in the face at the idea of learning proper manners from slaves, from **me** of all people.

Candace just glared at me, her face finally full of the anger I was expecting from her. “If your slaves can’t behave themselves, you ought to send them to their room, Claudia.” 

“Or I can just put them down.” Claudia grinned, slowly standing up from her seat, cane in hand. 

“No, wait-” Candace, for her part, just went wide eyed at the thought of it, catching her sister by the wrist before she could leave her side. “That was a joke. I was joking.” 

“Are you sure?” Claudia hummed to herself, grinning at her sister now. “Because it didn’t **sound** like a joke.” 

“Well it was.” Candace let go of Claudia’s wrist. “Please, sit back down so that we can talk… I want to hear about this party you’re throwing.”

Claudia took a good few moments before she said anything further, holding her cane to her chest and staring at it, trying to get up the strength to say what she wanted to say. “My mother is dying.” 

Candace’s heart broke inside of her chest, her face as distraught as I had ever seen it. From just one look at her, you could tell that she felt as if her own mother was dying again. “No…” 

“She went to the doctor, and they told her-”

“No.” Candace very violently jerked herself out of her seat, letting her chair skid across the floor behind her as she stood up. “No.”

“Candace, dear… sit back down.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She scoffed, incredibly heart-broken and full of unchecked fury at the same time. “Why didn’t I know sooner?” 

“We just thought-” 

“What, because she’s not **my** mother, you didn’t feel like I needed to know?” 

“Now I never said that at all.”

“Then why did nobody tell me?” Candace was a lot more affected by this than I had expected her to be, and the same was obviously true for her older sister, Claudia hadn’t expected this sort of reaction either. “I’ve been waiting for a call, but nothing. Nobody thought to tell me what was going on- not you, not Cyrus, not father. Not even Lilith…”

“She really never called you?”

“Not that I know of.” Candace had tears in her eyes that she was trying desperately not to let go of. “No.”

There was a long awkward pause between the two of them before Candace eventually turned away, beginning to head out of the dining room and back towards the ballroom. 

“Candace wait-”

“I’ve lost my appetite, sis.” 

Claudia followed her sister as far as the doorway back into the ballroom before stopping, turning around towards her daughter- still seated at the dinner table, and returning to her side. 

“Go check on her.” Claudia let out a low growl, directing me towards her sister without even looking at me. 

“Yes, Ma’am.” I stood up from my seat and headed after her, not needing anything more than just that to convince me to check that Candace was okay. 

I stepped into the sitting room as fast as I could, finding her just sitting there, staring out the window. She knew I was there, the two of us were so connected that we couldn’t almost feel each other’s presence sometimes. But she didn’t really say anything, she didn’t seem to care that I was checking up on her at all. 

“Are you okay, Ma’am?” I remained composed, respectful, making sure to address her as a superior. 

“I have certainly been better.” She remained calm, but angry. “Why do you ask?” 

“Because I heard-” I turned back to the house behind me, making sure no one else could hear me as I whispered. “I heard screams earlier.” 

She averted her eyes downwards, away from the light of day outside and down towards the ground. “Those were mine.”

“Are you hurt, Miss?” I once again made sure to be on alert, not saying anything that I was afraid could be overheard from behind. “Did the mistress hurt you?”

“Sophia, I-” She accidentally let the name slip out of her mouth, gritting her teeth and snarling. “I’m fine, Chloe.”

“Why do you keep calling me that, Miss?” I blushed, giving her a shy smile to make sure she knew that I wasn’t upset, just confused. 

“Because it’s hard to separate you from who you were, at least for me.” The reflection of the light glistened in her eyes, her tears glowing under the rays of the sun. “And I know it’s hard for you too.” 

“It’s harder than you would know, Ma’am.” I took a deep breath, recentering myself so that I didn’t get emotional. “But I’m trying to get rid of her.”

“Get rid of who, Sophia?” She turned to me, looking over at me with a smile on her face. “Or Chloe?”

There was a brief moment of pause as I thought it over, not yet sure what my answer really was. “I’m not sure.”

“She doesn’t exist, Sophia.” Candace finally stood up, still staring out the window to try and avoid eye contact. “I tried to tell you that… but you didn’t listen.”

“You tried to tell me what, Ma’am?” 

“The last night we had together… I tried to make you see that Chloe and Sophia are the same person. You can choose to change parts of you, but you don’t need to get rid of that part of yourself, you don’t need to choose between them, you’re exactly who you need to be. Don’t let some fictional other girl scare you.” She locked eyes with mine, letting me stare into the pretty ocean she held inside of her. “I would be heartbroken to see Sophia go, I know that now.” 

“Candace, I-” 

“Would you like a hug, Chloe?”

I paused for a moment, my cheeks turning pink. “I’m alright, Miss… I don’t need a hug.” 

Candace was silent for a moment, slowly walking towards me from the other end of the room, stopping as soon as she was within arm’s reach of me. “I do…” 

I screwed my eyes shut, taking a few quick steps towards her. She wrapped her arms around me, letting me grab onto her for support, holding me in a hug- not possessively, but protectively. 

“Don’t let her hurt you like I did, okay?” She sighed, whispering into my ear as we embraced. “Don’t let her erase you like the other girls.” 

“I’ll try my best, Miss…” I smiled, slowly pulling away from her once we were done. “Don’t let her hurt you either?” 

“I’m not fragile, Chloe. If you can do it, I can too.” 

“You say that but… I think I make a better slave than you ever would.” 

“Oh so that’s a bragging point now, I see how it is~” 

“Maybe just a little bit-”

“We’ll talk more after dinner, okay?” Candace cut me off, her eyes drifting towards the doorway into the ballroom, where something else had clearly caught her eye. 

“Are you kids okay in here?” Josephine. It was Josephine, and I couldn’t be more glad that it was her walking in on us and not Claudia, because watching the joy in her eyes as she recognized her sister-in-law was endlessly heartwarming, she was almost as giddy as Darcey usually was. “Candace~???”

“Oh my gosh.” Candace blinked, glimpsing back and forth between the other woman and I, taking note of how similar we looked. “You look beautiful~”

Candace quickly stepped towards Josephine, and I knew she was talking to her and not to me, but I couldn’t help but blush. The two of us looked so similar after all. 

“I have so much to tell you about!!” Josie grabbed Candace by both hands. “You’re joining us for dinner, aren’t you?” 

“Umm.” Candace briefly glanced over towards me, before nodding. “Of course I am.” 

“Come on then, let’s go have a seat.” 

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As usual, the **eating food** part of dinner was boring, but what followed wasn’t. 

Everyone in the house, save for the enforcer, was sitting down at the table to eat together- including us. I and my fellow slaves sat in our usual seats at the end of the table, none of us allowed to sit at the head. I sat across from Darcey, with Zenna to my right, and Autumn across from Zenna. 

On the other end of the table meanwhile, things had been changed up a bit. Claudia sat at the head of the table, she always had and she always would, but Candace was still seated directly to her right rather than her wife, who usually sat in that spot. Josephine instead sat across from Candace, where Lilian liked to sit, having her daughter seated directly to her left. Finally, across from Lilian was her grandmother, Lilith- on the other side of Candace. 

“It’s been nice to see you all again, it really has… but I ought to head home now.” Candace was getting antsy to leave, having finished dinner without even saying so much as a word to anyone at the table currently conversing. 

“Oh won’t you stay just a little bit longer, honey?” Lilith seemed disappointed by this, trying to convince Claudia’s little sister to stay, which Candace clearly wasn’t keen on doing. “You haven’t said a word over dinner.” 

“That’s because Candace here is learning proper manners, mother.” Claudia piped up, glaring condescendingly at her little sister. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.” Candace sighed, putting on the fakest smile she could as she nodded her head. “That’s correct.” 

“Well I wouldn’t want to keep you if you need to go.” Lilith didn’t want to see the girl leave so early, but she understood.

“No no, Candace will stay.” Claudia smiled, nudging Candace with her cane. “Won’t you?” 

“Until I’m told to leave… sure.” Candace was not at all having a good time. 

“Claudia dear, if she needs to go she needs to go.” Lilith frowned, very easily picking up on how awkward this was for the youngest sister. “Don’t make her stay if she doesn’t want to.”

“It’s not about what she wants mother, it’s about what we all want.” Claudia’s voice was almost whimsical as she spoke. “I want her to stay, so she’ll stay. Isn’t that right?” 

Candace sighed. “Yes, Ma’am…” 

“Well it’s been nice getting to see you again, Candace.” Josephine slowly stood up from the table. “But I am going to head in for the night, if that’s okay~”

“Take the guest room, love.” Claudia didn’t take her eyes off of her sister, even as she spoke to her wife. “I’m going to need our bedroom later.” 

“I suppose.” Josie sighed, but agreed. “Darcey, Autumn, go get the guest bedroom cleaned up and ready. Zenna will take Lilian to bed.”

She turned to us, ordering each of the slaves to go do something, except for one. 

“What about me, Ma’am?” I blushed, looking up at her expectantly. 

“What about you?” Josephine giggled, gesturing towards her wife. “I think she’s going to need you later too.” 

I nodded, indicating my submission to her. “Good night, Ma’am.”

“Goodnight, Chloe~” 

That just left the four of us. Claudia, Candace, Lilith, and I. 

And Claudia had plans for me.

“So who’d like to go watch Toto do some tricks?” 

The four of us settled into the sitting room, though I was less sitting than kneeling, on the floor at my master’s feet. 

“This little gem right here is Chloe, say hello Chloe~”

“Hello…” I looked up towards the couch from the floor below, introducing myself to two women that have known me since long before Claudia did. “My name is Chloe, #0000, it’s nice to meet you both.” 

I took a deep breath, keeping a smile on my face as I bowed, lowering my head to the floor in front of me, arms tucked into my chest as I stayed prone. 

“It’s nice to formally meet you Chloe.” Lilith made sure to be polite, somehow managing to be in on Candace and I’s little secret. It was clear that she wished for one of the two of us to tell Claudia the bad news. “All zeroes is an interesting number, did Claudia give you that, dear?” 

“No, Ma’am.” I slowly sat back up, answering questions as I was spoken to. “My previous master gave it to me.” 

Lilith giggled, cooing at me. “And can you tell us anything about her?” 

I blushed, suddenly making eye contact with Candace. Her stern look melted into one of insecurity and embarrassment more than anything, unsure of what she should be doing. 

“Well… she’s really pretty. She had a lot of money, loved cats and hated dogs. She was really into video games, her favorite foods were all pastas, and she drank a lot of iced tea.” I giggled to myself, watching the smile on Candace’s get bigger as she kept hearing me speak. “And I mean **a lot** of iced tea, they were sweet- just like her at times… but she wasn’t always sweet.” 

I looked over at her, Candace, and she looked down at me. She was clutching something to her chest, something hidden behind that dress of hers as she frowned, almost heartbroken to hear me talking about her, but it needed to be said.

“I tried my best to be faithful to her, I tried my best, I learned from my mistakes, I did as I was told. But more often than not, it wasn’t enough. She punished me. That’s why I was hers, so that she could punish me… and that’s what she did. She punished me for something that wasn’t my fault, she made me fall in love with her, and when she couldn’t fully break me- that’s when I got taken away.” 

Silence. Deafening silence filled the room. I looked at the first face I saw, Candace’s, wrought with anger and guilt, but she didn’t look at me. Her gaze went over my head, staring at her sister, who stared right back at her. 

“Chloe.” I heard my master’s voice from behind, tense and unamused. “Present yourself.” 

I turned my head around for a moment to look at her, seeing the malevolent stare in her eyes for the first time. “What’s that, Miss?” 

**Thump**. She slammed the tip of her cane onto the floor beside me, very narrowly missing my ankle as she hauled herself out of her seat. 

I hadn’t enough time to look behind me before she was reaching out with the head of my cane, the jaws of the serpent striking, snapping on to the back of my collar with a loud click. 

With very little application of force, she shoved my face to the floor, forehead slamming against the ground beneath me. I realized that I had somehow fucked up, but I couldn’t fathom just how severe of a mistake I had made. 

Head down, ass up, that’s what presenting oneself to her master looked like- but I couldn’t even get that much right. She slid her foot between my legs, pressing against the metal belt around my cunt with her shoe, lifting my ass into the air herself. 

“Master?” All I could manage was calling out to her, scared that I had made some serious mistake that I didn’t yet realize. “Have I done something wrong?”

Candace looked on in horror, trying to get her sister to stop before she did whatever she was about to do. “Claudia, I think she-”

“Silence. Both of you.” Claudia sounded calm, but that masked a deeper darker intention in her voice. “I don’t want to hear another word out of the lips of a lying little half-breed.” 

She kept me pinned down with her cane, one knee pressing down onto the backs of both my legs as she reached up to my corset, slowly unfastening and removing it- letting it fall onto the floor beneath my torso. 

“Now I can and have put up with a lot in my time. But secrets, omissions, and lies in the name of keeping me in the dark is not something I am prone to letting go unpunished.” She placed one hand on my skin, kneading and squeezing my side with one hand, chills creeping up my spine as she traced my brand with her clawed fingers. “I am many things, but I am not stupid or oblivious. You can not expect to be able to keep secrets away from me forever. One of you breaks or one of you dies, now speak.”

I stared up into the horror in Candace’s eyes, unable to fathom what it was that she was going to do to me if she didn’t get her way soon. “Master please, I’m sorry that-” 

“Let go of her, Claudia-” Candace shouted, her face beaming a terrified shade of red. “Don’t hurt her, please.”

“And why shouldn’t I?” Claudia snapped directly back at her. “She’s just some slave, you’ve only just met her today. Why should you care what happens to her?” 

“You already know why-” 

“Then say it!!” 

“Because she used to be mine, Claudia!!” 

**Click**. Claudia stood back up, releasing the jaws of her cane from the back of my collar. “Because all that talk of a previous master, she was talking about you.” 

_Oh no…_ I was petrified, frozen in place under the gaze of a medusa, still trapped in the jaws of the snake. “Master?” 

“I didn’t permit you to speak.” As soon as I began to sit back up, she once again slammed my head to the floor, pinning my head beneath her foot. “I want to have it out with **her** first.” 

“Claudia!!” The sound of Lilith’s cane against the floor was even louder than Claudia’s had been, her voice more stern, the sound of her prosthetic leg slamming onto the ground making her footsteps louder than any other. 

“Quiet it, mother. This is between me and-”

“ **Claudia Rosegold Mariam.** ” Her voice carried the same power and force that her daughter and her sister both had, but far more trained and refined over the years. “This is **not** what I wanted.” 

“This isn’t about you!!” 

“ **Yes it is!!** ” 

**Crack**. That was the sound of someone getting smacked upside the head with a cane, but it wasn’t me and it wasn’t Candace. I felt Claudia’s foot leave my head, and I instantly shot up. I had to see what was happening, and I was not disappointed.

Claudia stumbled backwards, desperately clinging to her cane as she struggled not to topple over. She stayed standing, but she didn’t stay composed- not after her mother struck her with her cane. 

“When I told you to patch up your relationship with your sister, this is not what I wanted, and you know it.” I was only sitting up for a couple moments before suddenly Lilith was pointing her cane at me. “The poor doll is positively terrified at the thought of what you’d do to her if you found out who she was, and your sister-” Lilith was now pointing her cane straight at Candace. “Your sister has her own motivations for keeping quiet about it. She’s only just sent the girl away from her, she clearly doesn’t want to think or talk about her right now, and Candace surely doesn’t need to be berated for that.”

Claudia stared at her mother, her face bright red as she turned towards her little sister, a sincere tone of concern in her voice as she spoke. “Candace?” 

I felt like a bystander watching a soap opera playing out in front of me, even more powerless than normal as I watched Candace jump up from her seat, helpless to stop her as she ran past me and into the ballroom behind us. 

“Wait.” Claudia reached towards her, but stopped herself before she could get into Candace’s way. “Wait…” 

“Should I go check on her again, Ma’am?” I looked up at her, my eyes pleading for forgiveness. I knew I had screwed up, and I wasn’t about to deny that. The only way forward was submission, to fully and honestly offer myself to her on the promise of being **hers** and not her sister’s. “This is my fault, what can I do for you to help fix this?” 

The ire in Claudia’s eyes as she pointed them at me was beyond any earthly conception of rage. Loud glimpses of softer condescension and confidence went up in flames, making room for unbridled fury targeted in my direction. “I wouldn’t.” 

My mind bit down on me like a pit of snakes, venomizing myself for being such an imbecile. _How could I let this happen?_ My fangs, sharp like a canine and weak like a puppy dug into my bottom lip as deep as they could go, drawing my own blood into my mouth like a vampire all in the name of shutting myself the hell up. 

If I had just been honest and faithful to her this wouldn’t be happening. She might have killed me over it, but at least I wouldn’t be seeing the betrayed looks on their faces burned into my vision when I closed my eyes. If I had squealed like a pig when it was appropriate for me, I might be dead, but at least **someone** would be happy. At least Candace wouldn’t be screamed at by her older sister. At least Candace’s screams wouldn’t be ringing in my ears from afar, helpless to stop whatever torture my new master had thought it appropriate to inflict upon her. 

Claudia’s sharp gaze flittered up to the open doorway, tailing the sound of a loud thud from the ballroom outside. It was unlike the sound of a cane being thumped on the floor, and even more unlike the sounds of glass shattering, littering the floor. But one thing was certain, it was more important than having to stand over and babysit me. 

Her wedges clacked along the floor, but not as fiercely as her cane. My fingernails against the floor were the pitiful echo of a more powerful woman, crawling after her. I was at her side, and I was going to stay there until she told me otherwise. 

Claudia let out a quiet gasp, quickening her pace as she reached the ballroom. Candace had tripped and fallen over, tumbling onto the floor in the middle of the wide open space for seemingly no reason at all. 

She whimpered, clutching onto her hip as she sat slumped over onto the floor. Her eyes flitted across the room, desperate to latch onto anything that wasn’t the eyes of her quickly impending sister, beginning to rush to her side. 

“Let me help you up, sweetie.” Claudia stopped, staring at her little sister from the other side of some invisible barrier as her mother got to Candace’s side first. 

“Thank you…” Candace smiled, letting Lilith take her hand, gently helping her back up to her feet. “I’m sorry for making such a scene…” 

“Nonsense.” Lilith gently placed her hand on Candace’s shoulder, trying to help comfort her, and it did a lot more than just help Candace, just in ways that only she could understand. “I’m sorry for being so distant.” 

“Miss Mariam-” 

“Call me Lilith, please…” Lilith held her close, trying not to be distant with the girl. “There’s no need to be so formal.” 

“I’m fine, I’d feel weird calling my father by his first name too.”

“Then you’re always welcome to call me mother, if you’d like.” Lilith smiled, holding out her cane for Candace to take. “You’ve only got so long before I’m gone.”

“Miss Mariam-”

“Candace?” 

Candace blinked nervously, curling her fingers around the cane as she pushed it back towards Lilith’s chest. “Thank you mother… I’m gonna miss you.” 

“Tch.” Claudia scoffed, curling her fingers around her own cane, murmuring to herself. “Of course she would.” 

“Master?” I turned up to face her, kneeling at her feet. “Please…” 

“I’m going to take mother home, then.” Candace smiled, refusing to look over at her sister as she spoke. “We’ll have to finish catching up some other time.”

“That’s fine.” Claudia spoke robotically, her voice turning monotone. “I’m sorry for snapping at you like I did.” 

“It’s okay…” Candace might not be willing to look at her sister again, but she was more than okay with looking over at me. “But I’d still like to have a word with **her** before I go.” 

I blushed, nervously glancing up at Claudia, avoiding her own sister’s gaze by funneling her rage towards me. “Ma’am?” 

“Make it quick.” Claudia sighed, tapping me on the back with her cane. “Don’t hurt each other… you still belong to me, got it?” 

“Got it, I promise.” I smiled, bowing just slightly. “Thank you.” 

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

We went into my bedroom, Candace and I, leaving Claudia behind us for just a moment- and I was just glad I hadn’t already gotten myself killed. 

I never thought it would happen again, but here we were, just the two of us. Candace and I, sitting alone together.

Candace sat on the bed next to me, sighing to herself, trying not to irritate her hip after falling down. “So… how is it here?”

“It…” I stared down at the ground, unable to look directly at her. “It’s nice, Ma’am…”

It was terrifying, in all honesty. I lived moment by moment, scared of what was going to happen to me, and I was equally as scared of Candace’s rage as her sister’s fury. 

“That’s good. I was worried that maybe she had hurt you.” I briefly glanced over at her, seeing the smile on her face for just a moment before we both looked away from each other again. “I’m glad you’re doing well.”

_What is this? Where’s the anger? Where’s the resentment? Where’s the punishment?_

I was so conditioned to expect cruelty from her and her family, and I was trembling with anticipation as I waited for retribution for what had just happened. For making a scene and getting her in trouble with her sister all for refusing to be honest with my new master. 

But even more so, I was certain she was still angry about our last night together. 

“Are you not upset with me?”

She continued looking away from me, her hands clasped together in her lap as she spoke. “Am I supposed to be?”

My eye twitched as I shot my glance over to her, locking with her eyes and holding eye contact unable to keep away. My retinas burned looking at the soft look in her eyes, something which stung more than staring into the sun itself. “Ma’am… I humiliated you in front of your family for a second time, remember?”

“Of course I haven’t forgotten.” Those eyes of hers refused to get angry, not even for a moment. “Is that supposed to matter?”

“Is it **not** supposed to matter?” I closed my eyes, still feeling her soft calm gaze burning me. “You were angry enough to punish and torture me the first time. What, do **I** just not matter to you anymore?”

“Of course you still matter to me, Chloe-”

“Then how is this at all the appropriate reaction, Ma’am? How is this-”

“I’m not upset with you, Chloe.” I felt her hand on my shoulder, desperate to feel her gentle touch turn into an angry possessive grasp that never came. “I don’t have the right to be.”

“Why…” I opened my eyes and stared her down with an angry glare, snarling between my murmurs. “Why aren’t you punishing me again?”

“Do you **want** to be punished again?”

“No, but-”

“Then don’t ask to be.” She tightened her grip on my shoulder, not to intimidate me, but to comfort me. “I think you’re punishing yourself enough.”

I lowered my gaze, staring down at my feet again, gently pressing myself into her, sitting hip to hip. “I’m not the one who’s punishing me…”

“You’re not being punished, Chloe…”

“How is this not punishment, Ma’am?”

“Because being punished would imply that you’ve done something wrong, and you haven’t.” She reached over, taking my chin with her other hand and lifting my gaze up to meet hers. “What happened between you and me is not your fault, it’s mine. You aren’t the one who deserves to be punished, I am.”

I sat there in front of her, quietly gazing into her eyes, wondering what was going through her head. Candace’s hand slid from beneath my chin, finding its place resting against my cheek. “Ma’am, I-”

“Call me by my name, please?”

“…Candace?”

“Yeah. That’s the one… at least for now…” 

“Do you not want me to-”

“It’s not about what I want, it’s about what I deserve.” Just like her eyes, the palm of her hand was like fire on my skin as she held it there, softly and gently. “A really long time ago I told you to address your superiors with titles… so please, just call me Candace… at least until I deserve your respect again~”

“But when will that be?”

“When you and you alone decide that it’s time for it to be.”

“Candace…” 

“You’ve heard of the phrase- _Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me._ Haven’t you?” She smiled, gently caressing my cheek with her hand, the hand on my shoulder gently doing the same with my neck. “I’ve fooled you once, don’t let me do it again.”

I blinked nervously, biting my lip as I tried to internalize the words that were coming out of her mouth. “Candace… what are you trying to say?”

“Last time I fooled you into thinking you were the one who needed to apologize… but you never should have been the one to say sorry… that should have been me. I should be the one apologizing to you.” She smiled, retracting her hand from my cheek and reaching into her dress to retrieve one of the necklaces dangling around her neck. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I’m sorry for punishing you for something that wasn’t your fault.”

 _The necklace…_ I stared at it as she pulled it out and held it in her hand, finally seeing the apology gift that I had made for her after so long. “You got the birthday present I made for you…”

“About five months late, but yeah… I did.” She smiled, admiring it. “Thank you.”

“I wish I could have gotten it to you on time.”

“That would have been nice, but hey- it’s still the second best birthday gift I’ve ever gotten~”

“Oh yeah, and what was the best?”

“I never told you, huh?” She smirked, letting go of both my shoulder and the necklace as she relaxed. “That night you arrived at my house, you arrived in a box for a reason~”

“Because it was your birthday.” I giggled, rolling my eyes at her. “And I was your birthday gift~”

“Exactly.” She sighed, reaching into one of the pockets of her purse and retrieving something for me. “But speaking of birthday gifts… I have something of yours, and I think you deserve it back~” 

I held my hands out, letting her place the trinket into my hands again after so long. “The bell…”

“It’s yours, a visible reminder of how well you’re doing.” She retracted her hands, slowly standing up from the side of the bed. “So that you can see it around your neck, and know that I’m thinking of you… and that I’m proud of you~”

“I-” I stared at it in my hand, smiling and clutching it to my chest. “I don’t deserve to wear this, Candace.”

“You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.” She smiled, standing in front of the door, ready to head out. “That’s the beauty of being away from me… you get to choose whether or not you deserve to wear it~”

“What do you mean?” 

“I’ve said my piece. I’ve said sorry. I’ve apologized…” She sighed, her face red with both shame and happiness. “It’s up to you to decide when and if you want to forgive me… you’re the one in control now.” 

“Candace, I…” I smiled, holding the little bell in my hand, hearing it chime just a little bit. “Thank you… I appreciate it a lot.”

“Don’t mention it~” She winked at me, gently tugging her hair out of her face. “Anything else you need from me before I go?”

“Still no kiss goodbye?”

“I don’t know about you, Chloe. But I know for certain that I still don’t deserve one.”

“Sophia.” I stopped her, holding the bell between my hands in my lap now. “For now, call me Sophia.” 

“A pretty name for a pretty girl. I like it.” She giggled, smiling at me with that pretty face of hers and those gorgeous mismatched eyes. “When can I go back to calling you Chloe, then?”

“When you deserve to~”

“And when’s that going to be?”

“I don’t know, Candace.” I smiled, blushing just about as hard as she was. “That’s up for you to decide~”

“Fair enough, _Sophia_.”

I sighed, looking down at my lap as she opened the door, my smile quickly fading. “Is this goodbye, then?”

“I don’t know… not if you don’t want it to be.” She opened the door, stepping into the doorway, her back to me. “Do you want it to be?” 

“No. I don’t think so…” I smiled, my gaze still fixed straight down into my lap. “Will you come visit sometimes?”

“I think I can do that, yeah… but in the meantime-” She stepped through the doorway, slowly closing the door behind her. “Be a good girl for your new master~”

I opened my hands, staring down at the bell, happy to have it back. “I think I can do that~”

“See you later, Sophia~”

“See you later, Candace…”

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

And that’s how one of these would usually end, with me and Candace saying something short and sweet to each other. 

But that would feel disingenuous. I don’t belong to Candace anymore, and it just didn’t seem fair to end it on her and I. 

“Master?” I bit my bloodied lip as I stepped out of the dumbwaiter and into the bedroom. “Is everything alright?” 

Claudia sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed, glaring at me. “Come here.” She lifted one hand, motioning for me to join her with her fingers. 

“Yes, Ma’am.” I did my best to remain positive and respectful, smiling at her as I approached. “Am I in trouble, Miss?” 

“Yes and no.” She frowned, pointing at the floor in front of her feet. “On your knees.” 

She had her cane at her side, and I took note of that as I got down into a vulnerable position in front of her. “Like this, Ma’am?” 

“Skirt up.” She flicked her fingers at me. “Hands out of my way.” 

“Yes, Master.” I curled my aching fingers into my frilly skirt, holding it up to make sure it didn’t obstruct her. “Whatever you say.” 

“You shouldn’t have lied to me.” She slowly got down onto the floor in front of me, staring at me with a stern look in her eyes. 

“You said it didn’t matter. She doesn’t matter to us, Master.” I pressed my tongue against the holes in my lip, pressing against the bloodied interior of my mouth. “You told me you didn’t want to know, so I didn’t want to tell you.”

“It should have been common sense for you, Chloe. You’ll be punished for this.” She reached down, her fingers brushing past the skirt. “But we’ll get to that later, for now… I just want to have you.”

 **_Click_ ** _._

I felt the chastity belt sliding down my thighs once it was unlocked, prompting Claudia to grab it by the lock and tear it off of me, sending it soaring aside and tossing it onto the floor. 

I blushed, swallowing nervously as I smiled up at her. “And you have me, Master.”

“I know I do.” She stood up, climbing back into bed. “Now come on, let’s fuck already.”

“Are you sure, Miss?” My heart was being squeezed inside of my chest. “I thought you were-” 

“Do as I say and strip, Chloe.” 

“Y-yes, Ma’am…” 

The gloves, the leggings, and the garterbelt all came off, taking the skirt with it. The nipple clamps stayed on, but I wasn’t the only one to undress. She sat on the edge of the bed, forcing me to watch her take her clothes off, leaving me waiting to see her body. 

“Now now, be patient.” She began to remove her suit jacket, undoing each button on her slim green garment one by one. “It’s not like you’ll ever be starved for savory images of my body darling, you are a form of sex toy after all, enjoy the moment.”

That snide cocky attitude of hers was infuriatingly attractive, begging to be fought. She set her jacket aside, doing the same with her matching pair of trousers before moving to the buttons of her undershirt. 

“Put these away for me, dear.” Claudia had a hungry smirk on her face as she handed off her folded two piece suit and yellow dress shirt, her shoes and socks set aside. She was taunting me now, starving me for just a little bit longer to make me desperate.

My head may have been filled with romantic thoughts about her little sister, but that didn’t exclude me from thinking the same about Claudia. It took Candace months to get to this stage with me, but her sister had gotten here in the span of two weeks. 

She was a cold-blooded fiend, but she was hot and feisty, domineering. She somehow wore yet another layer beneath the two shirts she had taken off, and only once she was stripped of her undershirt and shapewear was she finally down to her lingerie, which she wore beneath her clothes at all times. 

I had never seen anything quite like I was seeing strapped around her waist however. She had been wearing this strange sort of harness beneath her clothes the whole time, it hung onto her by decoratively winding around her legs, coiling around her thighs and her hips and coming to ahead at her crotch. 

“You’re in for a treat, snakefood. Preyboy here isn’t just a walking implement.” She spoke down to me, talking about her cane, which evidently had a name. “She’s a sex toy.” 

Cane in hand, she slowly unscrewed the head of the implement, opening up the hollow compartment inside of the long tube that housed toys inside of her cane. She tipped the cane towards her hand, and out slithered a peculiar looking metal rod, shaped like the neck of a snake and ending at the head.

She screwed the smaller metal rod onto the plate at the front of her waist harness, attaching the head to the rest of the snake. Now that it was complete, it really did make it look like she had a snake coiled around her waist and her thighs, searching for prey. I had never seen one like it, but I knew exactly what it was, a strap-on. 

“Cute…” I bit my lip and my tongue, shooting myself in the foot by downplaying the appearance of her fancy metal strap-on straight to her face. Yeah, Sophia is definitely still in there. 

“So you want cute, do you?” She licked her lips, for a moment looking and feeling like a snake as she coiled her fingers around the chain between my clamps. “How about you let me show you cute~” 

The nipple clamps themselves were also like decorative little serpents as they bit down on me, digging their fangs into my areola as the other woman violently yanked on them, slamming my back against the wall beside her bed. 

“Nnngh…” I hissed back at her, staring into those hypnotic eyes of hers as she slowly brought her face to mine. 

“Slave.” She stared into my eyes, licking her fangs. “You know what happens if you fight back, don’t you?” 

“I die, Master.” I swallowed nervously, wanting so desperately to bite her before she bites me. “You’ll swallow me whole.”

“That isn’t quite on my list of methods I use to subjugate my slaves, but you get the idea.” She giggled at me, turning my head to the side just slightly as she ran her coarse tongue over my cheek, coating me in a light film of venomous saliva. “Be a proper slave and obey, try to have fun as you’re put in your place, or fight back and die.”

“I can obey, Ma’am…” I winced, trying not to let it get into my eye, my words like acid on my tongue as I spoke them, degrading myself for the sake of survival. “I’m good at being obedient.”

“Then we’ll have no further troubles tonight, I’m sure of it.” She opened her mouth, sinking her sharp fangs into the skin of my neck to illicit some hellishly aggressive whimpers from my lips, unwilling to put up a proper fight for fear of becoming her next meal rather than her toy. For as long as I could, I would prefer to stay her rape doll rather than a corpse she poison and toss out. “What are you, Chloe?” 

“I’m a slave, Master…” I pinched my eyes shut, whimpering desperately as I fought to keep myself from attacking back. “I know my place.”

“Who do you belong to?” She giggled, gently licking my right earlobe as she whispered. “And who **don’t** you belong to?”

“I belong to you, Master.” I bit my lip, dining on my own blood as the previous bite wound I had inflicted upon myself reopened. “I belong to Claudia Mariam, and no one else.”

“Enough with being facetious, Chloe. Out with it.” She hissed angrily, yanking on my nipple clamps to punish me for my own words. “Technically correct isn’t good enough here, use common sense. I want to hear her name.” 

“Candace… Candace St. Clair!!” I felt the words slip from my lips just in time for her to bite down on my earlobe with her teeth, dragging the answer screaming from my lungs. “I’m yours and not hers, I swear!!”

She picked me up by the nipple chain and again slammed me into the wall. “Swear to who?”

“To the highest authority I can, Miss!!” I hissed back, feeling the heat bubbling up inside of me once again. “Be it God or otherwise-” 

“ **Who** is the highest authority in your life, slave?” 

“You are, Ma’am!!” I squealed, murmuring barely coherent syllables between phrases as she menaced me with her gaze. “I swear to **you**.”

“Finally, the correct answer.” She cackled just slightly, kneeing me in the crotch as hard as she could before yanking me from the wall, slamming me face down onto the bed beside us. “Don’t forget that.” 

“I wouldn’t, Miss… I promise-” 

“Stop your incessant squeaking, rodent.” She climbed into bed next to me, putting her hand to the back of my head and slamming my face into the sheets below, cutting me off from any substantial amount of air. “My sister had her chance with you, and from what I’m hearing, you blew it.” 

“ _Fuck!!_ ” I squirmed beneath her, failing to stop just a single expletive from slipping from my mouth as she forcefully pinned me down. “I’m sorry!!” 

“Smaller creatures on the bottom, bigger creatures on top. The weak are beneath the strong, Chloe. Listen well thrall.” She ran her fingers over my ears, pinching down on the spot where one of them had been surgically pointed. She pulled on it, simultaneously demonstrating her superior power and ensuring that I could hear, and was listening to, her voice. “All of my slaves have had their ears pointed, whether in or out of the house- like goblins, gnomes, orcs, and most especially **elves**.” 

“Yes, Ma’am… I’ve noticed.” I bit back my pride like a much smaller and weaker snake as I spoke, mumbling through the blankets. “Why do you do that to us?”

“Because I want to make it clear to you and anyone that sees you that you are not human.” She squeezed my outer ear as hard as she could before letting go. “My daughter sees these ears, and she has been taught to quite literally believe you to be less than human, and I plan on keeping it that way- so that she isn’t exposed to the idea that these atrocities are being done upon **people** , but **livestock**. That’s what you are- livestock.” 

She dropped me, running her hands over my sides as she continued hissing sourly pointed insults into my head. “You are an asset, a possession, property. My property- and I do not want you to be mistaken for belonging to any other, do you hear me?” 

“I hear you, Miss.” I swallowed my dignity whole, doing my best to appeal to her. “I hear you, and I understand.” 

“Look at me, Chloe.” She bit down on my ear with her fingers, pulling on it in an effort to roll me onto my back, gazing up at her rather than lying face down. “She doesn’t have you anymore, I have you.” 

“You have me… and you’re worried.” I blinked nervously, batting my eyelashes as I soaked in her words, staring up at her in confusion as I finally felt where this was coming from. “You’re worried about Candace taking me back…” 

A little bit of Claudia’s glassy scaled facade broke away in that moment, shedding off of her to reveal a more human motivation behind her actions. Fear. Fear of losing something that’s rightfully hers to someone that doesn’t deserve it. I could read her now, just a little bit better, now that I knew how she ticked- how her brain worked. 

She’s _privileged_. She thinks having me is her right and that having me taken away and given to someone beneath her goes against the natural order in her mind. For all her talk of being more accepting and growing to be a better person. Claudia was still a bigot. 

She thinks she’s owed something she’s not. She’s a snake, someone who slithers in and wrecks things, the natural hierarchy in her mind is something that when shaken, threatens to tear her apart from the inside. 

“If I can’t have you, nobody can.” Survival of the fittest, the most natural order one can adhere to. She was on the top, and I was on the bottom. It was only through her that creatures like me, lowly little monsters and scumbags trying to upset the rightful order, could be permitted to live. Under her rule. “I’ll sooner end you than hand you over, Chloe. That’s how much this little arrangement means to me, girl… Understand that.” 

“You’ve only just met me-”

“That means nothing. Not to me.” She hissed, bringing herself closer to me. “You’re mine… so please, right here and now, be mine.” 

She loomed over me like a predator, leaving no inch of room between us. Her fingers interlocked with mine, equal if not for her palm being atop mine. The metal head of her strap-on rested upon the exposed skin of my navel, her knee pressing into my crotch again, softer this time. 

Venoms mixed, salivas boiling hot against each other, her lips pressing against mine. Not sharp, not coarse. Soft. Human. We kissed, my breath slipping away from me moment by moment, stolen from my body by her, my new owner. Master. Slave. It all clicked together. It all felt right. 

Being here with her right now, despite the journey it took to get here, it felt right. It felt right to be beneath her, it felt natural.

My fingers twitched, the backs of my hands glued to the surface of the bed as hers slipped away. The nipple clamps found a place between her fingers as she tightened her hands around my breasts, squeezing them harder than the miniature serpents could bit, kneading into them as she slipped her tongue through my lips, dancing in my mouth like a snake being charmed. 

“Let me in…” She pulled away, licking her already wet lips to savor the taste of blood coming from my mouth. “Spread your legs.” 

“Please don’t hurt me…” I let my sores bleed, keeping myself physically and emotionally vulnerable, spreading my legs, letting my heart spill out of me as a desperate plea. “I should have told you sooner… I just couldn’t bring myself to do it… I’m sorry…” 

I could **feel** her grin growing wider, even through closed eyes. She took one hand off of my body, curling her fingers around her cane and bringing the head of the all powerful serpent straight to my lips. 

“Speak into her superior ears, Chloe.” There was a small click and a short hiss, a crackling sound coming from the head of her cane as it activated. “Speak to her, leave a message for Candace.”

I hissed loudly, biting back at the cane, knowing that it wasn’t my master. “I can’t do that-”

“Yes you can. I’m telling you to, and be honest about it this time.” Her hypnotic gaze was only barely shielded by my closed eyes, but her voice was more than controlling, it was pulling me like a string. “If you want to have me inside of you, then speak directly to her from here beneath my grasp, within my fangs- pretend I’m not here.” 

“But you are here, Master. I can’t just-”

“Don’t hide yourself from me, slave. I own every part of you, including your mind. If you want to be forgiven, then cut it with the squeaky little secrets, and speak.” 

“We just spoke, Miss. I don’t know what I’d say to her-” 

“Tell her what you think, Chloe… I heard your stories about her, and that was while she was here, that was straight to her pretty little face. Say what you can’t say to her face, Chloe… tell her what you think.” She again pressed the device to my lips, waiting for me to give in to her will, ready to strike. “You left **her** , Chloe… not the other way around. You left her for a reason, because of what she did to you, I heard you say it. Have some fun at her expense… **Punish** her.” 

I felt the metal strap-on pressed against my vulva, ready to push itself into my waiting cunt, slowly but surely getting wet and ready for her. Ready to be taken and ravished. 

“I’ll get my way with you no matter what. You made a mockery of my family by embarrassing her on the world stage- and I will punish you for that, Sophia Cavalier. But don’t let that fool you into thinking you don’t deserve just a little bit of revenge, just a little bit more before you call it even. You may be a slave, but you’re mine.” Her words were egging me on, giving me the idea that just this once it was okay to bite back, not at her- but at her sister. “She’s done so much to hurt you, my slave… and like the crippled little thing getting revenge on her high school bully, your anger comes from somewhere- so let her have it.”

“I’m sorry…” I started and stopped, clenching down on my words as soon as I felt them slipping from my throat- and then I let them go. I let her have it. “I’m sorry, Candace… I love you and I miss you, but…” 

I whimpered excitedly, like a little animal being led by a chunk of meat tied to a string, eagerly following after the feeling of her serpentine steel member pressing against me. “But this is as good as you’ve ever given me… and I didn’t need to be put through two months of hellish abuse and borderline neglect to get here.” 

“Very good my little pretty~” Claudia murred happily at me, massaging one of my tits to encourage my continued submission. “Keep going~” 

“Fuck… I’m sorry… but I can’t just forgive you for it all.” I growled under my breath, face hot with rage just thinking about everything I’d been through to this point, towering over the thoughts and feelings I couldn’t have the courage to confront my former master with. “I don’t know what was real and what was fake, and I still don’t know… all I know is that this is where I am now, and this is who I belong to. **Being** Sophia never did anything for me, but being Chloe… being Chloe keeps me safe. Being Chloe is what she wants from me… not Sophia… nobody’s ever wanted Sophia, but people want Chloe.”

“ **I** want Chloe~” Claudia licked her lips, pressing the head of her cane to mine, letting the fangs brush against me. “Go on, tell me who you belong to… Tell **her** who you belong to.” 

“Not you, Candace… not anymore.” I swallowed the last of my sobs, letting her hook my lip with those jaws pressed against me. “I’m sorry… but I belong to her now.” 

“And cut.” There was another small click, and the metal jaws of the beast clenched down on my lip, sucking out a pained squeal from my lips, piercing through them in two spots- leaving snake bites in my lower lip. “Very good~” 

“There. I’ve denounced her. Happy?” I was crying, my tears rolling backwards down my temples and onto the bed beneath me as I let out a volley of soft but pained sobs. The fangs of the snake dislodged themselves inside of my lips, leaving me with a pair of fancy new piercings. Candace had left me one on my nose, but Claudia had given me two. “I can’t stand this, I can’t stand being the centerpiece of infighting between your stupid family squabbles anymore. I’d rather be burned through with venom than die of a broken heart. So if one of you psychopaths is going to kill me, will you **please** just do it already?!”

“Oh please… don’t underestimate me like that darling, I’m only letting you speak and scream at me like this because I’m enjoying seeing you in pain.” She set the cane beside me on the bed, the crackling hiss still ticking away inside of it like gears. “You know already how much I hate you for what you did, Sophia. But like my other slave, I’m not going to kill you… just like I didn’t kill that high school bully of mine, I’m going to make you my drone~” 

“And what will you do to me when you fail?!” I snapped back, as angrily as I possibly could, utterly failing to let go of the fight in me. “Make up your mind already. Am I the bully or am I the bullied, which is it?” 

“You’re a feisty little **nothing** that shouldn’t have left the facility, that’s what you are- nothing. You’re **my** nothing. The only reason you left the facility was because you were already doomed to die.” She hauled me up by the chain connecting my nipples, slamming me back down onto the bed. “Maybe Candace didn’t know this, or maybe she did and she just tricked you into thinking otherwise, because she sure did insist that you were in a better place. You’re only alive because I bought you. You’re not fully trained because they didn’t want to waste their time on a slave set for death row, if **I** hadn’t bought you- they would have had you killed.”

I whimpered, my rage bleeding into my words. “You’re lying to me!!”

“I’m not.” She whispered back, calmly. “I’m not lying to you. I’m telling you the cruel truth of your existence. Nobody wants you but me.”

“That’s not true…” I shook my head, trying to free myself from the thought. “…Is it?”

“Chloe.” She spoke calmly, tapping me on the forehead to get me to open my eyes for the first time in a while. “You’ve worked awfully hard to get that belt off this last week. Don’t you want to come tonight?”

“Of course I do…” I swallowed, staring angrily into her eyes, sick of being insulted and mistreated. “But don’t change the sub-” 

“The only word I want to hear starting with that prefix is submission, Chloe. You do want to submit to me, don’t you?” She licked her lips, pressing the head of her strap-on directly onto my labia. “Don’t you want me to **make you** come?” 

“Yes. Anything to get away from this, yes.” I closed my eyes again, rolling them back into my head as I arched my body for her. “Please, Master. Make me come… I just want the pain to go away.” 

“Then come for me.” She whispered seductive hisses into my ears, swallowing my mind in her all encompassing lust. “And when you do, make sure to scream loud enough for even Candace to hear you.” 

“Yes, Master.” I growled angrily, waiting for her to cut to the chase and finally put her money where her sharp little mouth is, and stop rolling her tongue when she should be making me scream. “I’m yours.”

It might not have been a real penis, but it was as good as one as it slithered its way inside of me, pounding into my soft wet little cunt as it pounced, like a snake, striking me where I was weakest. It might not have been real love and affection, but it was just as good as the real thing in the moment. 

She could read me like a book just like her sister could. I’d found my weakness, and so had she- making me the sniveling little bitch of a much stronger woman. If nothing else, Claudia had that over her sister, the strength and desire to hurt me as deeply as she needed to to keep me in line. Claudia wasn’t afraid to break me like her sister had been. She was very proudly focused on erasing who I was and turning me into someone else. 

I turned my palms face down on the bed, curling my fingers into the sheets below as I felt her fake cock slide up my imprisoned little flower at last. 

“You **do** want to be subjugated, girl.” She hissed through her own moans. “That’s what you are, a husk waiting to be put under the right master, and that master is me. That’s what I want~” 

“Shut up and do it, then!!” I growled angrily, wishing I could spit in her face without coughing on saliva and blood. “Don’t pretend like you’re any better than I am, you just have more power and money and less decency-”

“That’s not how a slave should speak to her master is it, puppet?” She squeezed my tits with both hands, ramming her strap-on up my tight little pussy even harder this time. “Don’t answer that. Fix it. Speak to me like a slave **should**.” 

“Break me then!!” I shouted into the poisonous air around me, every part of me in pain. “I’m not **ashamed** to say it anymore, I’m more than happy to call myself yours, **Master**. You just have to earn it first.” 

“What did I **just** say?!” 

“Is this **not** how I should speak, Ma’am?” I opened my eyes, glaring directly into hers. “Do you not want a fight?” 

“I shouldn’t **have** to fight!!” 

“ **Your sister fought for my submission!!** ” My lips curled into a mischievous smile, eagerly awaiting her anger and fury. “ **And she didn’t complain about it- she fought and she WON.** ”

“Do not go and compare me to **her** , slave.” 

“And why not?!” I couldn’t take this any longer, I couldn’t just curl up and die, I was too far to just let go now. “I heard the screams!! I know what you did to her, and I’m still not afraid of you. So if you really want to prove yourself better than whatever **she** is, then fucking fight me.” 

"I ought to-"

“You ought to **what?!** ” I snarled, sick of hearing her voice and not feeling her body. “Don’t telegraph. Don’t say things, just do them, I am **begging you**. If you want me then take me!! I want this too!! I want you to win, I swear on **you** , I want to be yours. I just want to be broken, is that too much to ask?!?!” 

Claudia was furious at me, but before she could get another word out of her lips, I cut her off. I hacked up a ball of blood and saliva from my mouth and I spat in her face, giving her the most literal insult that I could possibly give her from this position, and it was more than enough to give her pause. 

“You’re unlike any slave I have ever met, Chloe.” She froze, hovering over me in utter disbelief. “I have never in my life thought I’d meet a slave so brazenly disobedient as to spit directly in my face while still somehow begging to be put under my heel.” 

“Still just talk-”

“Hold your tongue before I cut it out of you, rape doll.” She brought her hand up and then back down, smacking me directly in the face. “Just enjoy the ride… you’ve fucking earned this.” 

**Slam**. I shrieked, feeling her pull out and then forcefully slam into me, pressing all the way up to my cervix. I was going to die once this was all over, but until then I might as well enjoy myself. 

And she didn’t stop with one, or two, or ten. She fucked me and she fucked me hard. No warmup, no foreplay, no words- just bitching a girl inside out over the metal snake wrapped around her hips. 

I snarled, mewling happily at the influx of pain and suffering. My hands released themselves from the blankets below, more than eager to participate. 

This was the power I still held. I didn’t just have to lie down and take it, I could participate. If she was going to finally give me what I wanted, I was going to finally give her what she wanted. 

I grabbed my thighs with my hands, curling my nails into them as I hoisted them towards my torso, spreading my legs unnaturally wide so that I could eagerly take her fake cock. 

You scratch my back, I scratch yours. You give me a world where I can have my submission beaten and bitten out of me on the end of your string and I will give you that submission. Earn my submission and I will bend over for you. Fight me and win and I will be the greatest loser you’ve ever played. 

I want to present myself to you, as vulnerable as can be. I want to bend, and break, and bounce. I want to find myself sobbing as pulsate around your cock. I want to be your bitch. That’s what I was saying to her. 

I kept my knees pulled as close to my chest as I could, keeping them out of her way, letting my cunt be eaten out by her serpent. 

I whimpered, squealing loudly as she pulled the chain tight, just about ripping my nipples off as she forced me to hold the chain in my mouth, keeping me quiet and happily subdued. 

The metal ribs of the strap-on rubbed against the interior walls of my vagina, letting myself be as thoroughly violated as I could, violently and incessantly. 

I hung onto that little cherry, curling it into my metaphysical hand for as long as I could, not ready to give it up until it was pried out of me. I was going to be **forced** to come, even if it was the last thing I did. 

But even I could last very long while having my most sacred site brutally pounded by an eagerly depraved empress. 

“M-Master…” I whimpered for her, the first thing out of my mouth once I had given in, ready to be her bitch- she earned it. “Let me squeak and scream and beg for you, Master… I swear I’ll be worth it in the end. Bitch me inside out and I’ll lovingly bend over, I swear. I- I- I want it so badly… please… I’m a good girl-” 

“I’ll be the one to say whether you’re a good girl, now come like a bitch and scream/” She snarled angrily, wrapping her fingers around the front of my collar and bucking her hips as hard as she could one last time, raping those well earned screams out of me at last. 

I **popped** , arching my back and squeezing onto my thighs as hard as I could as I contracted around the metal serpent. I rode it out, fast and hard, coming onto her cock.

There wasn’t a hint of shame in my voice as I screamed, loudly and proudly, just like she wanted me to, finishing happily- like a broken bitch should, sobbing and moaning. 

She was a goddess, stealing it from me like a grave robber, biting into my cunt and raping me into submission. She loved it, we both loved it, she even moaned. But once it was all said and done, once I was raped out of breath and had my cunt popped open on her metal strap-on, all the excitement and happiness and pleasure eventually had to fade away. Leaving me wallowing in just one thing, fear. 

“I’m a good dolly, I swear!!” I buried my crying eyes behind my hands as I sobbed, instantly flooding with regret at every action I had taken in the name of earning myself a pitiful little orgasm. “I’m not trying to be a problem, Ma’am!! I don’t want you to get rid of me like she did, I don’t!!”

I bit down on my newly pierced lips, convulsing into a pathetic puddle of sobs and near pissing terror, covered in my own vaginal fluids. 

“I want to be your obedient little rape puppet, Master, I promise!! I just can’t control myself!!” I curled my fingers into my hair, ready to pull out chunks of my own hair. “I want to bend over for you!! I want to make you happy, Master… **I don’t want to die. I’m so scared that you’re going to kill me!! All I want is to be protected and cherished, I swear!!** ”

“When I say bark, you bark.” She sounded strangely calm, menacingly so. “Now bite your tongue so that I don’t have to hear your pathetic sobs.” 

“Yes, Ma’am…” My heart thumped in my chest, pulling my hands from my eyes as I bit down on my tongue as hard as I was comfortable with. 

“Behave. Quiet your soul, calm your loins, and don’t move a muscle unless I tell you to.” She pulled away from me, slowly beginning to unstrap the device from her waist. “I raped you into submission, the least you can do is obey.” 

“Mhmm!!” I whimpered through closed lips, nodding my head as tears rolled down my cheeks. “Mhmm…” 

She sighed, slowly sitting me up and pulling me into her lap, staring at my body as she did so. “Mine.” She took a moment, smiling as she nodded for me to respond. 

“Yours.” I let the word roll off of my sore tongue. “Yours…” 

“You begged to be made a bitch, so you’ll sleep in the cage tonight.” She placed one hand on my cheek, pulling my lips to hers for a kiss, one that lasted more than a few moments. “Stay faithful to be above anyone else, and I won’t kill you…”

“Yes, Master…” I smiled, the taste of her lips sour on my tongue. “Thank you.”

“Now get out of my sight.” She curled her hand around my collar again. “Do that again and you’ll be raped to death, rather than submission.”

“Y-yes, Ma’am…” My heart sunk, having really hoped she would do it again sometime. “Anything you say… I promise.”

“Now go fuck off.” She snarled back, rolling her eyes as she got out of bed, pulling me onto the floor and dragging me across the room to the dumbwaiter before violently tossing me inside. “Goodnight, slave.”

“Goodnight, Master…”

And just like that, I was alone again. Sleeping in a cell inside of a house that I couldn’t call my home, curled into a ball as I sobbed my heart out. 

She fucked herself to an orgasm after she was done with me, I had no doubt about that, but it didn’t make it better at all. 

I didn’t know what to think. Candace. Claudia. I wanted to be with them both.

I was caught between them, two women fighting over me. Both of them wanted me, but neither of them deserved me, neither of them wanted me for who I really am. They just want to **have me**.

But they can’t have me, not like this. 

I couldn’t end this on short little goodnights or goodbyes with Candace, but I couldn’t end it on Claudia either. There was only one way I was ever going to be able to end this chapter of my life.

Alone. 

I was madly and desperately in love with two gorgeous and powerful women at the same time.

And I couldn’t possibly feel more alone.

↞✶↠ _**END OF ACT 3**_ ↞✶↠

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>    
> This act may be over, but mark my words. You haven't escaped me just yet.  
>  _-Claudia Rosegold Mariam_
> 
> Lucky for you, now that she's out of my hair, you boys and girls get to have two endnotes.  
> So here we are, act 3 has come to an end and Chloe still hasn’t gotten back together with Candace.  
> The question now is- Do you even want her to?  
> It’s time to make a decision: Claudia or Candace, Chloe can’t be with both~
> 
> Or can she? 
> 
> Okay so, in the sake of actual transparency this time, i have written and posted ten chapters in the span of one month, and although i have absolutely loved every moment of it, it's time for a hiatus. 
> 
> Please go read some of my other things if you like this one??  
> Around Her Fingers is my other really big story that i like working a lot on.  
> Miss Panda's is a really nice spinoff of this one if you like MDLG or ABDL stories, and it's got a couple of familiar faces in it.  
> Sinner's Elixir.... exists. Even if it is heavily inspired by other writers, i did pump a lot of soul into the relatively low amount of words in it thus far- and it's getting more chapters. 
> 
> Where was i going... right, rambling!!! i'm claira!! it's really nice to meet you.  
> Like always, discord handle is in the profile page-  
> if anyone ever wants to **use** my characters in their own things, feel free to go ahead- just let me know so i can read it.  
>  _Cough cough_ go read BloodMoonKitten's work (Them's the one who did the art above, what do you know- and they've also done MH related things in the past._  
> And.... that's it for now, i think?  
> Anyways, i'll be back with act 4 eventually, i hope you've enjoyed thus far!!
> 
> _Finally back in some semblance of control,_  
>  _-Claira Abigail_


	31. Cut to the Chase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was just gonna jump into patch notes and let that be it, but I’ve decided that I actually genuinely need to be real for a moment and say what I need to say.
> 
> This story is about something, and I can’t deny that, it’s not just smut- but at the same time, I think it’s gotten too caught up sucking it’s own dick and burying it’s face in plot that it’s gone too far from what it actually was meant to be.
> 
> So here’s the deal, and let me be real with you:
> 
> This is a story about Candace and Chloe, not Claudia.
> 
> I got really caught up in the idea of Claudia as a character and turning her into this perfect villain, but I’m making the decision- right here and now- to cut out a lot of the plot I had been planning for her. So if you get to the end of act 4 and feel like there have been plot points that I’ve just simply dropped, it’s because I have.
> 
> The reason I cut act 3 off how and where I did was because I as a writer needed to stop and figure out how the story was going to work beyond that point, and it’s because of this reason that a lot of things are changing between act 3 and act 4.
> 
> So I’m setting in stone what the story is going to be going forward right here and now so that it doesn’t transform into something entirely different like the last act did. 
> 
> Act 4 is a situational horror story. It is about manipulation, abuse, and lies.
> 
> It is twelve chapters long, and I intend each to be shorter than chapters have been as of recent, all of which will focus on getting back to where this story is supposed to be.
> 
> And most importantly- it is about Candace and Chloe, not just one or the other.

**_↞✶↠ ACT 4 ↞✶↠_ **

**_Patch Notes_ **

**_The clock is ticking and the countdown timer has begun. It’s time for Candace and her siblings to face the music and come together as a family before it’s too late, because once the party’s over, they might never be able to stand side by side again. The death of one mother figure might bring them together, only for the death of another to tear them right back apart, and Chloe is caught right in the middle of Candace and Claudia as they try to patch their relationship once and for all. But more is happening behind the scenes, one of these sisters has a dirty little secret that might just prevent them from reconciling after all, and discovering it could send Chloe down a rabbit hole that she might not be able to return from._ **

**_PATCH NOTES:_ **

**_Added countdown clock at the beginning of subsequent chapters._ **

**_Updated ending of story to better reflect fan preferences._ **

**_Updated Personnel Identity Registry-_ **

**_\- Updated information for #0000 to reflect transferral of employment._ **

**_Removed canonicity of the Christmas special / side story._ **

**_Removed bug causing story to be told from Candace St. Clair’s perspective._ **

**_Removed bug causing beginning and end notes to be controlled by Claudia Mariam._ **

**_Changed perspective from first to third person for the remainder of the countdown timer._ **

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

**_11th October, 36 Days until the party._ **

“Here it is.” She swallowed nervously, gently placing the parcel, the cassette tape, onto her desk. “Just like you asked, Ma’am.”

“Good girl.” Claudia grinned, picking it up and admiring. 

Finally. After years of being without it, it was back, right where it belonged. 

“My sister didn’t see this, did she?” 

“No, Ma’am.” The slave hung her head, glad to be able to say that she hadn’t shown it to the girl. “Not a second of it.”

“And let’s keep it that way~” Claudia hummed beneath her breath, handing it back to the girl, watching the lithe little mouse take it into her paws. “In the cupboard with the rest.” 

“Y-yes, M-Ma’am…” Terrified, she choked back her sobs, prying it from Claudia’s claws at taking it where she was directed to, hearing it slot into place perfectly. “There…” 

“Very good.” Claudia still sat behind her desk, smiling tenderly at the girl. “That’s it then, you’re forgiven~”

The smaller woman swallowed nervously, very near vomiting. “You mean that?”

“Enough to keep you off the zed list, yes.” Claudia smiled, her eyes drifting towards the cupboard, towards that tape. “Now run along, Ms. Watts will escort you back out.” 

“And where exactly am I taking her-” The word was like venom on Leah’s tongue. “Ma’am?”

“Where else would you be taking her…” Claudia giggled, rolling her eyes at that. “To the plantation~” 

She slowly stood up, using her cane to help her back to her feet, walking towards the pair of women. Claudia’s place of work was not an office, she dealt in drugs, selling and growing. 

She ran a plantation. 

“And Aria~” She stepped towards the girl, gently lifting her chin upwards, an evil smirk painted onto her face. “Be a good girl and work hard, I’ll see you soon…”

Fairmont bit her lip, completely silent save for a couple of quiet gags, nodding her agreement to the other woman. 

And that satisfied Claudia, at least for now. “Take her away, Ms. Watts.” She grinned, turning away from the little mouse, stepping back into her office. 

**Crack**. Claudia’s mother was clearly not the only one who was prone to smacking her in the face, there were very few people in the world who were untouchable to Claudia, and Leah was not one of them, but she didn’t care. 

“Hurt another hair on your sister’s head, and you’re through.” Leah stared her down, a fistful of keys in hand, ready to thump the other woman in the face a second time. “You got that?”

She stumbled, but she didn’t fall, glaring her father’s assistant in the eyes, wanting to gut her right there on the spot but knowing she probably ought not to. “Whatever you say, Alecia.” 

Leah scoffed, grabbing Aria by the trembling hand and quickly escorting her away, while Claudia’s evil gaze slowly drifted back towards that cupboard of hers, eyeing her collection. 

Aria might not have known it, or maybe she did, but she might have just saved Candace’s skin with that one. She would have hated to recreate her favorite film by recasting her little sister in the lead role, but she almost had to. 

Almost.

Her hand trailed upwards to her small collection of VHS tapes, tracing over them with her finger as she searched for the one that had been missing for so long. 

  1. _8928\. 8332. 7790. 7161. 6113. 5261. 4019. 4600. 4188. 3540. 3032. 2841. 1726. 1648. 0972. 0454. 0006…_



And now… _0002._

_Charlotte Zed… Oh how I’ve missed you~_

She plucked it off of the shelf and held it to her chest, happy to have it back, cradling it like it was alive, like a person. It was like she was finally back with her. 

Eighteen out of nineteen tapes just sat there, all in a line, while this one- this very special one- sat in Claudia’s grasp after so long. 

She blushed, staring at the VCR she kept in her office for the exact purpose of watching these tapes, before quietly deciding against it. 

The shelf, which fit exactly twenty of them, was full of B-tapes, except for just one slot. She stared at the empty spot where 0002B slotted in, all the way to the left. 

The rest of them were there. Jaymie, Kiera, Brenda, Kelly, Anna, and now Martha’s tape, they were all there. Even Bella’s tape was there, 0006B, right there next to Charlotte’s as she slotted the other tape back in. 

She always kept an empty slot clear to the left, just for this tape, but now that it was full she didn’t need to do that anymore. But maybe she still would…

She stared at the other empty slot, clear on the other end of the shelf. She had kept it open just in case she needed to make a 9999B, and there was a chance she still would, however unlikely. 

The tapes all slid one slot to the right, leaving the shelf empty towards the other end, directly to the left of her most prized possession. There weren’t a lot of numbers less than 0002, but there were a couple… and she might just be able to make one to fit in that slot. 

_And now for Chloe…_

Claudia was in an eerily cheerful mood when she came to get the girl, but Chloe wasn’t about to complain. 

“Master-” She clenched her curled up hands to her chest, biting her lip nervously as she stared up in awe at the other woman. “I’m sorry about last night, I really am.” 

“You have until the party.” Claudia cut to the chase, having no time for the girl’s silly little worries. “If you’re not one of my drones before the end of said party-”

“You’ll kill me.” Chloe nodded, her mouth curled into a slight smile. “Thank you for this…” 

_Strange-_ Claudia thought of the slave’s weirdly positive reaction- _But welcome~_

On the other side of that smile however, was Chloe, and Chloe wasn’t even remotely okay, not after that last night. 

She shook on her knees before the woman, lowering her lips to her master’s foot, and gently kissing her boot to demonstrate her loyalty and appreciation towards Claudia. 

“What do I need to do, Master?” Chloe smiled, trying to pretend like she was happy to be doing this, when she really wasn’t. She wanted to be a mindless drone just as much as the next drone, except she didn’t. She didn’t want to lose who she was, or more accurately, there was a little part of her that didn’t want to go away. “I’ll do anything for you, I swear…” 

“You have a little gamer brain in there don’t you, an eye for tiny details.” She smiled, tapping Chloe’s noggin with her cane, watching her slave wince. “You can navigate~” 

“As long as I’ve been there before yes, I can navigate.” Chloe took a deep breath, choking back her nerves. “Where are we going, Ma’am?” 

“In due time, slave. But first-” Claudia smirked, retrieving a set of clothes from her bag, Chloe’s clothes, passed onto her new owner from the facility once she was purchased. “Put those on.”

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“You have got to be kidding me…” The highly annoyed blonde scoffed, growling under her breath at her older sister. “What do you want, Claudia?” 

“My slave and I just figured we ought to pay you a visit, that’s all~” Claudia swung her cane around, gesturing towards the overtly distraught Chloe beside her. “To apologize for all that happened last night.”

“I’m sorry, I have a girl over.” Candace smirked, quickly beginning to shut the door. “Maybe some other time-”

Thud. Claudia stopped the door with her cane, peeking inside and smiling at her sister. “Can I come in and meet her?”

Candace paused, exchanging a quick glance with the nervous blushing Chloe. “That was a lie…” She sighed, opening the door as wide as she could for the pair of women. “Come on in…” 

Claudia nodded, stepping in first, followed by her slave, heading into Candace’s mansion. “Well I must say… this wasn’t quite what I was expecting from your home dear~”

“Sorry about that I guess, you didn’t really catch me at the best of times.” Candace, closing the door behind them, quickly shuffled towards the guest bedroom, making sure to lock the door before anyone could peek inside. “The slave stays on a leash, I don’t want her wandering.”

_What the hell…_ Chloe stepped inside, jaws dropping at the sight of the place, her former home. _What happened here…_

Candace’s home, which Chloe had gotten so used to seeing in perfect working order, spotlessly clean and immaculately organized, was in absolute ruins. It was a wreck, like it had been blown to smithereens, but somehow worse. The place was a complete and total disaster, and it made Chloe sick to her stomach, not just to see her former master’s home in such a shape, but to see Candace like this. 

“You’ll have to excuse the mess, **Sophia**.” Candace snapped at the girl, her voice irritated and sharp. She was rubbing her eyes, and it was clearly not because she had just woken up, because Candace had been crying. “I haven’t gotten around to finding a replacement housekeeper just yet.” 

And Chloe snarled, grinding her teeth together. _Good_ \- She thought, gloating internally as she saw just how much of a disaster St. Clair truly was on the inside, the other woman wasn’t anything without her- _You deserve to be crying about it…_

“Apologies for not calling ahead, I suppose~” Claudia followed behind her sister, careful not to step on loose clothes littered all over the floor. “I just wanted to surprise you.”

“Well you’ve surprised me alright.” Candace scoffed, stuffing her hands inside of her hoodie pocket- and Candace doesn’t usually wear hoodies, mind you- so that was when Chloe realized: 

_That’s not Candace’s hoodie._

In fact, a large portion of the clothes littered about the floor weren’t Candace’s. Candace, or more specifically, Candace’s slave- whoever that might be at any given time- took immaculate care of Candace’s fancy and expensive clothes. 

No, these were not Candace’s clothes. These were Chloe’s clothes. **Sophia’s** clothes. 

“Where did you get all of these clothes?” Chloe scoffed, picking up a large armful of the garments and gathering them into her clutch, gently sniffing them- these came from her old studio apartment alright. “Are these **mine**?” 

If glares could fucking kill, Candace would have murdered Chloe ten times over right then and there, angrily staring at the insolent slave. “Sister. Slave. Leash. Please.” 

“I have a better idea, actually-” Claudia grinned, tapping her cane on the floor to get her slave’s attention, before lifting another garment from the ground with her cane. “Clean.” 

Candace, unsurprisingly, did not like this suggestion. “I told you I don’t want her wandering.”

“Oh relax, dear.” Claudia swung her cane towards Candace. “She’ll be fine, she’s done this before, right?”

“Fine…” Softer, more sullen gazes from the littler sister to the bigger sister wouldn’t quite kill Claudia like Candace would have killed Chloe, but Candace agreed. “But only because it needs cleaned.” 

“I’ll start with the laundry then, Ma’am~” Chloe smiled, bowing for her new master, while scanning for her old master’s reaction- which was just kind of sad, Candace didn’t have any new negative emotions to show her that she hadn’t already, but that wasn’t going to stop Chloe from digging for them. “The hoodie.” 

“What about it?” Candace’s hands remained firmly buried in that pocket, not willing to let go of it.

“I’m doing laundry.” Chloe smirked, eyeing her up and down. “And you look filthy.”

That one hit Candace, made her look like she was just about to cry. “Whatever…” Pockets still full of hands and keys, Candace rolled it over her head, throwing it at the other girl. “Here.” 

She, the dazzling public eye starlet St. Clair, was not wearing a bra under that, and her daddy’s dollar bought double D cups did not like being out in the open air, skin as pale as a canvas. 

Or so that’s how it would go, but Candace’s body looked scary shades of purple beneath that, no wonder she wasn’t wearing a bra. Bruised and battered yeah, those tits had absolutely gotten it, and not in the fun way. 

“Your bruises paint you over quite nicely, hon.” Was **not** the reaction Chloe wanted to hear from her master, staring now at her little sister’s tits, and not at her own slave. Off putting, but leagues away from surprising, knowing her. 

It made Chloe’s skin crawl- again, not in the good way- to hear it, and not only because it was gross. These people were gross, but honestly… it kind of made her jealous, and she wasn’t sure if she was jealous that her master wasn’t looking at her, or if it was that she wanted to be the one to play with Candace’s breasts.

Candace’s jaw just hung open with shock as she carefully covered her boobs with her arms. “I hate it here.”

“Chloe, dear…” Claudia smiled, turning to wave the slave off. “Make yourself useful, I think I’d like to be alone with my sister for a little while~”

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Claudia made sure to lock Candace’s bedroom door shut behind them, intent on making sure Chloe doesn’t overhear them. “So-”

“Why did you bring her here?” Candace took a seat, intimately ashamed. “You **know** and you still brought her with you, why?” 

“I brought her here with me **because** of you, dearest.” Claudia grinned, sitting down across from her. “Did you think about the offer I made you?”

She snarled, swallowing her anger. “You mean that’s somehow still on the table?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact-” Claudia smirked, still gawking at her sister’s bruised body. “It is~” 

“You did it once already, and I’m letting it slide, but no.” She shivered, collecting herself in her seat, shaking nervously in her sister’s presence. “I can’t just-” 

“Think about it, Candace…” Claudia frowned, disappointed in her sister’s reluctance. “Don’t you think you deserve it?” 

“Look, I don’t know what she’s told you, but-”

“Would you like to?” Claudia grinned, more than willing to show Candace what Chloe had been saying. “I have a message from her, just for you~”

“I…” Candace froze, staring at the head of Claudia’s cane. “From when?”

“Last night.” She smiled, luring the girl straight into her trap. “After you left.”

Candace hesitated, but ultimately agreed-

_I’m sorry, Candace… I love you and I miss you, but…_

_Fuck… I’m sorry… but I can’t just forgive you for it all._

_I don’t know what was real and what was fake, and I still don’t know… all I know is that this is where I am now, and this is who I belong to. Being Sophia never did anything for me, but being Chloe… being Chloe keeps me safe. Being Chloe is what she wants from me… not Sophia… nobody’s ever wanted Sophia, but people want Chloe._

**_I want Chloe~_ **

**_Go on, tell me who you belong to… Tell her who you belong to._ **

_Not you, Candace… not anymore._

_I’m sorry… but I belong to her now._

And it left her speechless to hear it all.

“What do I need to do?” Broken down to the bone, Candace gave up, agreeing to the terms her sister had laid out for her the previous night. “What do you want from me?” 

“Weekends.” Claudia set the cane back down, having finished playing the recording out loud. “Every weekend, without exception~”

“I have the world championship.” Candace scoffed, squirming with disgust in her seat. “The weekend before your party.”

“Every weekend but that one then~”

“And you won’t tell father?”

“Not until after it’s official, no… But I’ll expect you to have made your verdict by the end of the party.” Claudia smiled, leaning forwards eagerly. “So… do we have a deal?” 

“If it means that I get to see her-” The little sister choked, missing the feel of Chloe’s hoodie on her skin. “Then yes.” 

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Chloe clung tight to that tiny little bell clipped onto the front of her collar as she stood in the kitchen alone, working on lunch for the pair of women as she listened to the disgusting sounds of whatever they were doing in there. 

She couldn’t ration why she wanted it to stop, but she did, and it made her feel tenfold more powerless than she had ever felt in this house before. 

Trapped in the kitchen where she belonged, a proper slave.

And she finally decided that right now, while those two were busy having sex in there, was finally her chance to put to use all of that plotting she had done in her months at Candace’s side.

**Click**. The secret door to Candace’s basement opened up, and Chloe went down. 

Claudia, mercifully, had let Chloe dress like a proper human, in her own clothes no less, and that meant giving the opportunity to bring that backpack of hers along for the ride. 

But she didn’t wear it just to look cute, fresh out of the dryer she had stuffed warm clean clothes, her own clothes, into her bag- and slotted conveniently among them, now that Candace had no need for it, fit the very same laptop that Malcolm used to use to access the security cameras within Candace’s house. 

And just like the evidence had been pointing to- it was Chloe’s own laptop, provided by her former master to Malcolm for the express use of keeping the girl in check, stolen from Chloe’s apartment along with apparently the entirety of her wardrobe. She didn’t know how or why Candace had it, but she was glad that she did. 

Quick and easy, back up the stairs she went, closing the door behind her, and leaving no sign that she had been down there.

Now for those keys of hers~ 

_Ah yes, my best friend-_

Chloe gently tossed the keyring up into the air, catching it in her hand moments later. 

_Candace’s rage quit response~_

Chloe wasn’t just a good slave, she was an evil genius. In her anger, Candace had tossed the hoodie straight towards Chloe’s face, likely without realizing that her keys were still in the pocket, because all Candace cared about in that moment was smacking Chloe in the face with it- but Chloe knew they were in there, she saw the other woman stuff them in her pocket post locking the guest bedroom door. 

And now she had a way out~ 

It really did serve her master right though, Claudia was somehow so focused on her sister and not on her new slave that she didn’t even realize where Chloe was right now, on her way out. 

For months and months and months, Chloe had been focused on coming up with a way to escape this house, and she had one. She was just stuck on one last detail- how to get out of the house without being electrocuted.

And fortunately for her, that was no longer a problem. Her collar was no longer connected to Candace’s security system, which meant that she could slip through the door mostly undetected. 

After all, Candace hadn’t exactly locked the door back out of the house, just the guest bedroom. She had measures in place to keep slaves trapped inside, but she very much did not want to trap her sister in here with her.

She gently stepped outside, quietly closing the main entrance behind her, careful not to make any noise. Both Candace and Claudia took their time during sex, but she knew very well that she didn’t have much longer until they were finished. 

But that little yellow car of Candace’s that she had stolen from Chloe hummed like a bird when she turned it on. 

She tossed the backpack into the passenger’s seat next to her, digging the laptop back out so that hopefully she might be able to disarm the gates and open the garage door, and just like that, it was going perfectly-

Too perfectly. 

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“Ummmm…” Candace blinked as she stared at her phone, making sure that she was seeing what she was seeing correctly. “H-hey sis… I think I need a moment…” 

_Right… I’m only doing this for her… I probably ought to save her from herself, huh?_

“I’ll just be out, umm-” She swallowed, waving her phone at Claudia for just a moment, not long enough for her to see what was on the screen. “Feeding the cats.” 

“Well alright then…” Claudia sighed, gazing longingly at the other woman. “I’ll be in the restroom, make sure Chloe knows to have lunch finished by the time we’re done here~” 

“Will do…” Candace sighed, climbing out of bed and heading out into the hallway, taking a quick detour to the kitchen to make sure Chloe didn’t completely burn the lunch than she had left on the stove. “You moron…” 

Chloe really was too smart for her own good, she had thought of quite literally everything in that little head of hers, which meant the only thing that could stop her in her tracks was something which she hadn’t considered, some obstacle that to her, would seem like it came completely out of nowhere. 

The notification kept beeping on her phone, and she kept pretending like it was a timer to remind her to feed the cats, but it wasn’t- it was her two-factor authentication on that laptop, asking her if it was really her trying to login, and this time- it wasn’t.

“Get out of the car, Sophia.” Candace very patiently opened the door, holding it open for the girl as she climbed out, slowly closing the laptop and sliding it back into her bag. “You’re an idiot.”

“I know.” Chloe hung her head in shame, voluntarily letting her former master take her backpack from her. “I’m sorry.” 

Candace’s mouth remained curled into a frown, snatching the keys straight away from the slave’s grasp. “If my sister caught you out here trying this, you would be dead.”

That, while technically true, was something that Chloe couldn’t help but scoff at. “Your sister **wouldn’t** catch me out here trying this, Candace.” 

“That’s because my sister is not as smart as I am…” Candace slammed shut and locked the car door, careful not to make noise. “Heinous and manipulative, yes… but not abundantly intelligent.” She frowned, taking her former rival by the arm and slowly dragging her back into the house. “So if she asks, you were out feeding my cats, got it?” 

“Got it…” Chloe nodded, sucking it up and accepting that her escape attempt had failed. “Thank you…” 

“I won’t save your ass like this again, Sophia. So don’t expect me to be there to bail your skin out from your next beating-”

That, quite deliberately, was a bluff on Candace’s behalf, but the dejected escapee didn’t need to know that actually- in reality- Candace would do anything to protect Chloe. 

Even if it meant actively letting herself fall into her sister’s trap.

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“The two of us will be off then~” Claudia said her stomach wrenching goodbyes, which included kissing her little sister on the lips, and just as quick as they had arrived, it was time to go- just not before Chloe got her chance to say goodbye too. 

Claudia finally had Chloe on a proper leash, ready to take her home, and Chloe was prepared to stay that way for a little while, at least as a way to dissolve Candace of any potential liability for any further escape attempt. 

She did appreciate Candace for her help, though.

“I’ve done your laundry, fed the cats, washed the dishes, straightened up the parlor, the dining room, the kitchen, and your bathroom… you’re welcome.” That just didn’t mean she wanted to be any nicer to her than she had already been. “Take better care of yourself, St. Clair.” 

She had gotten her backpack confiscated, but that was the least of her worries, she was after all just thankful that Candace didn’t rat her out. 

She smiled, waving goodbye. “See you next weekend~” 

Immensely thankful, at the end of the day- and it made her smile to hear that she would be seeing the other woman again very soon.

Though, it wasn’t quite the smile Candace got from seeing that bell around her neck again. 

“Until then-” Candace rolled her eyes, once again seeing her rival off. “Get out of my house, Sophia~”

**Author's Note:**

> HEY so ummmmm... I'm broke. Whoops!!
> 
> I put a lot of heart and soul into these things so if you think you'd like to maybe toss a tip at me, go ahead:  
> [Support me here!!](https://ko-fi.com/clairanette)
> 
> I love you all, and I'll see you in the next chapter~

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Rewind](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29012232) by [BloodMoonKitten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodMoonKitten/pseuds/BloodMoonKitten)
  * [Rebooted Rivalry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29068272) by [Clairacuddles (Clairanette)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clairanette/pseuds/Clairacuddles)




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